It Takes Two
by Dramatic-ADD-Having-ass-Writer
Summary: What if Callie wasn't the only teen Stef and Lena chose to foster from the pilot? What would've happened differently if another girl was involved?
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I do not own the Fosters or anything related to them whatsoever. _

* * *

**Lena's P.O.V.**

I know Stef is going to kill me, when she realizes that David from C.P.S. is dropping off another girl. She was pissed as it was, when she found out what Callie was doing here.

But David sounded desperate, "This is sort of an emergency placement, Lena. She doesn't have anywhere else to go. It'll only be a few weeks, and she's hardly a trouble maker."

I felt completely bombarded by his words but agreed anyway.

_Why did I have such difficulty saying 'No.' _

_It was one simple word. _

_One simple syllable._

_NO. _

These girls are only going to be here a couple of weeks; I try to remind myself. Stef will understand…_hopefully._

The doorbell rings, and I already know it's them, "Jesus, will you get the door for me please?"

"Kay," he replies as he walks out of the kitchen.

"Who could that be at this time?" Stef asks as she looks in my direction. "Any more surprises?" she smiles jokingly.

_You have no idea,_ I think to myself, but her face stiffens when she sees my reaction. "It's David, from C.P.S.," I tell her.

"You didn't?" she looks at me, with the sound of defeat in her voice.

**Callie's P.O.V**

I wonder, _what the hell David is doing here?_ Did my dyke comment bother them that much, that they would make him pick me up right away? A whole 4 hours… that was by far the shortest amount of time, I've ever spent at a foster home. _Unfreakingbelievable_.

And where the hell is Bill?

I stop eating my lasagna and place my fork on my plate. I start to stand up, so that I could wash my dish, when David comes into the kitchen with another girl. She was around my age, maybe younger, my height, really thin, with black hair and green eyes. She was wearing a black bomber jacket with dark blue jeans. My eyes were drawn to her fingers, which were all dressed with silver rings and she held onto a big north face backpack, which I assumed contained her clothes.

She looks at all of us, but mostly at Stef. My reasoning for this was because of her uniform. _Guess she doesn't like cops either._ I try not to laugh and then she glances at me. I can see the fear start to form in her eyes.

"Hey David. This is my partner Stef," Lena says, as she places an arm on Stef's shoulder. And this must be Christina?" she says and offers the girl a smile.

Christina looks at Lena now, with the same look she gave me, and then looked back at Stef.

David answers for her, "Yes it is. I'm so glad, that you two were willing to do this for me on such short notice."

"Not a problem," Lena answers.

Stef glances at Lena and forces a smile. "Not a problem at all. It's like we never discussed it," Stef replies and Lena nudges her arm.

"Great. As I said, it will only be for a couple of weeks, until I find them another placement. I really appreciate it."

"I'm sure you do," Stef replies, trying to hide her frustration, but her voice delivers it anyway.

Christina looks at all of us, then back at David, "Uh… David, can I talk to you for a sec?"

"Is it important? I really have somewhere I have to be," he asks as he stares at his watch.

"It'll just be a sec," she says.

**Christina's P.O.V.**

There was no way in hell I was going to stay in this house. I pull David into another room, "Where is it?" I say as I search his shirt pockets and then his pants.

"Where is what?" he asks with a confused look on his face, as he tries to pull away from me, to keep me from searching his pants.

"Don't play stupid. Where are the drugs?"

"What?" he asks.

"The drugs. You know? Whatever it is you're smoking, that leads you to believe I would stay in this house. You have to have them on you, because lord knows I could use them, right about now. Are they hiding in your purse?" I ask as I I try to grab his brief case, but he pulls it back.

"It's not that bad, Christina. Bill tells me they're really nice people."

"Bill says that about everyone and the majority of the time it's a lie."

"Christina."

"No! You've got to be high if you think I'm living in the same house as a cop. And did you see the girl's face? It looks like all of them took turns beating the crap out of her."

I stop when I hear a boy's laugh coming from the kitchen.

"Who? Callie? She was just taken out of juvie today and brought here. Just like you. That's why her face is like that," he tries to explain to me. But I'm not buying it.

"Yeah, right? And what about the one with the curly hair? Why are her cheeks bruised? Don't tell me that she just got outta juvie too?"

"Who Lena? Her face isn't bruised."

"It looked pretty banged up to me," I insist.

"Christina, that's probably her makeup," he laughs.

I can't help but think, _why someone would want their face to look like that_. "It doesn't matter. I don't want to be here. Take me somewhere else, please."

"Well, you don't really have a choice, Christina. You got kicked out of your other foster home, and this was the best alternative I could come up with at the last minute. It's only for a couple of weeks."

"Just a couple of weeks?" I ask.

"Yes."

"Mind if I get that in writing?" He laughs and walks back toward the kitchen, completely oblivious to the fact that I wasn't joking.

**Stef's P.O.V.**

Everyone rushed back to their seats, when they realized Christina and David's conversation was over. Considering the circumstances, eavesdropping was a must.

I can't believe that girl would think that I beat on Callie and on Lena. Did she really think cops were that bad? I look over at Lena.

I always told her to ease up on the bronzer, but she never listened.

Lena was rubbing her cheeks with a napkin in order to take some of her makeup off, when she stopped at the sound of Christina and David walking back in.

I'm trying hard not to judge, but now I know both of these girls are fresh out of juvie and in my kitchen, I can't help but worry. And I know I have Lena to thank for that.

I'm definitely going to have a talk with her, because I don't appreciate her making these insane decisions without talking to me about it first.

After dinner, I try to lay down the rules of the house to the two girls. Even if this is for a couple of weeks, I'm not going to allow chaos in my home. "The curfew on school nights is at 7. You must ask my permission from Lena or myself, before leaving the house. A—"

Christina interrupts me, "7 am?"

"No pm," I clarify. She looks at me strangely, as if I just spoke to her in Japanese. "Is that a problem?"

"That only gives us like, what 4 hours to hang out?"

"Uh…Yes," I answer. She looks at me like I've gone insane again. I keep going, trying not to let myself get distracted, "Also you will go to school, while you're staying here. Lena is the vice principle of Anchor Beach Charter School. All the kids go there so you'll be—"

Callie interrupts me next, "Where do I sleep?" she asks as she looks around the room.

"Excuse me?" I ask. It was like she didn't even care to listen to my rules at all, which reminds me that this isn't such a good idea.

Christina gives Callie a weird look, "I'm starting to understand why your face is all banged up," she laughs.

Callie gives her a dirty look and looks back at Stef, "It's not my first time in a foster home…Where do I sleep?"

"Let me show you," Lena interrupts, while placing a hand of Stef's shoulder and walking Callie over to the living room.

Christina watches them both leave and looks in my direction. I stare at her with confusion, which seems to freak her out, because she gets up slowly and walks in Lena's direction.

I already knew that I had my hands full.

* * *

**Callie's P.O.V.**

Before going to bed, I borrowed Brandon's cell phone to call Jude. Luckily I got a hold of him, and now I know that he's alright. I know that I have to get to him as soon as I can, but the question is how?

Christina walks into the living room and sees me, just as I was about to hang up the phone, "Talking to your boyfriend?" she asks.

"No," I stare at her.

"Whose phone did you steal?" she asks and gives me an inquisitive look.

I just stare at her blankly, without responding.

"Alllrighhtt. Well, wanna put it back before you get us both in trouble? Thanks, I'd greatly appreciate it," she says as she lies back down on the couch, pulling a blanket over her body.

I shake my head and walk over to Brandon's room to return the phone.

**Christina's P.O.V.**

I can't believe this Callie chick is trying to cause all this trouble for me already. Normally, I would've been all for it. I would be dying to get kicked out of here, but after getting thrown into juvie, I don't have too many options anymore.

I lay down and wonder if I should give my mom a call. Just to see if she's still with that douchebag boyfriend of hers. The one, who's to blame for everything that's gone wrong in my life.

If I call her and she's still with him, I know she'll hang up on me. That's one of the things I hated most about her, her desperate need to be with a man. That disgusting trait is what drew us apart in the first place, and I know it will only get worse with time. But that doesn't change the fact that I still love her, even though she's given me plenty of reason to hate her.

I try not to cry as I lay down on the couch, but I can still feel the tears burning in my eyes. _I won't call her._ It will only make me feel worse, and that's the last thing I need right now.

**Lena's P.O.V.**

Stef has been giving me the silent treatment, since she found out what I've done. I know she's mad, and that she has a right to be, but I hate it when she's angry with me.

I watch her grab the clothes out of the dryer, walk over and toss them onto the bed. "Thank you," I say in an effort to break the silence.

She sucks a long breath in. I know I have to apologize to make this right, "Okay, so I've been thinking… and I know how mad I would've been, if you would've made such a huge decision without consulting me. I'm sorry."

She smiles at me, and I know that she was waiting for it. "It's fine. I'm okay. But, did you have to bring home two of them?" she asks jokingly.

I smile back, "I know. I know. It's just, when David called and told me about Christina, I said okay without really thinking about it. And… I'm sorry. The word just came out. It's like I had no control over my mouth."

"Those two seem to have that problem too." she says in a more serious voice.

"Tell me about it."

* * *

_The next day during school_

**Callie's P.O.V.**

I'm finally walking away from the school to go get Jude, when Christina comes up from behind me. "What are you doing?" I ask her flatly.

"That's funny. I was just about to ask you the same question," she says.

"I have some stuff I have to take care of," I reply, hoping that she'll turn back around and walk back to class.

"You do know that you're only making things harder on yourself, right? And me."

"What are you talking about?" I ask.

"If you leave, they're going to send me back because of it. And who knows where I'll end up?"

"Not my problem." All I can think about right now is finding Jude.

Brandon catches up with us, "Where are you guys headed?"

"Apparently, to take care of some shit," Christina says.

I stop and turn around to look at them, "No, I'm going to take care of something, and you two are staying here."

"She wants you to stay here, dude," Christina says.

"You do know that my mom's a cop right?" he says as he looks at both of us.

"Really? I just thought she was dressed in a cop uniform, because she just left her job at the strip club," Christina responds sarcastically.

I keep walking, hoping that they would distract each other, for a long enough time for me to escape their sight.

"HEY, WAIT UP!" Brandon yelled and both of them were running toward me. He stopped when his cell phone starts to ring, "Someone's been calling me from this number all day."

I stop when I realize it might be Jude. I quickly turn around and grab the phone from his hands and answer it, "Hey baby it's me what's going on?"

"Our foster dad found out you called last night," Jude responds.

"What do you mean?"

"Um…He got really mad at me, Callie."

"Jude, what are you saying?" I start to fear the worst. If Jude tells me he hit him again, I know I'm going to lose it.

Another voice comes on the phone, "Who's this? Callie? You ungrateful bitch! You have the nerve to call my phone after what you did?"

"Let me talk to Jude."

"Not on my watch, sweetie."

"Put him back on the phone." Before I could finish talking, he hangs up on me.

"What's going on? Who was that? Why are they calling me number?"

"She stole your phone last night," Christina answers nonchalantly.

"What?" he asks.

"Chillax. She returned it, didn't she?" she answers.

"I gotta go," I say as I thrush the phone into his chest and walk away.

They keep following me though. "Who was that? How do they have my number?" he asks again.

"It was my brother. I have to get him out of my foster dad's house."

"Hold on. Let me call my mom. She's a cop."

"I said no cops!" I yell.

"Yeah, I gotta agree with her on that one. That's a pretty dumb idea," Christina says.

**Brandon's P.O.V.**

We're all sitting in silence, inside of a bus. _What the hell am I doing? _I'm supposed to at the music competition, and instead I'm following these two girls who I don't even know. My parents are going to KILL me.

"So…." Christina tries to break the silence. "What's the plan?"

"What?" Callie asks.

"Well, we need to have a plan. We can't just go in your foster dad's house and steal your brother."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't think it's a good idea to add 'Kidnapping in the first degree' to our rap sheets.

"I didn't ask you two to come."

"What else is there to do?" Christina asks. "Homework?" she laughs. "I'll take criminal activity over that any day."

I look at them both like they're crazy, but I've go to be just as whacked out if I followed them. And Christina's right. A plan sounds better than no plan. "Maybe I could knock on his door and ask for directions."

"Because you know, that's believable…" Christina adds.

"Well, what's your plan then?" I ask, a little harsher than I intended. Neither of the girls seem to notice though.

"Maybe I can knock on the door and lure him out somehow."

"How?" Callie asks.

"I think I can figure something out," Christina smiles, and I know whatever she's conjured up isn't anything good.

* * *

**So, what'd you think?**

**I had this idea in my head for a while, but was always too lazy to write it out.**

**Plus, I'm in the middle of writing two stories right now, and I added another one into the mix.**

**I had to do it. It was driving me crazy.**

**Please Review and feel free to shoot me any ideas.**

**I've just started writing it, so I'm an open book right now…**

**And I might change the title, if something more creative comes to mind.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Christina's P.O.V.**

We finally reach Callie's foster dad's house, and I already know what I have to do. I can't help but feel excited about this, which is kind of dumb. I know. But the rush I'm about to feel is totally worth it.

"Are you sure that he's the only one home?" I ask Callie.

"I think. His son might be there too, but Bobby always locks himself in his room. So, I doubt he'll be an issue."

"Okay, good."

"What's your plan?" Brandon asks nervously, and I can tell he's never done anything this risky in his life. I try my best to hide the laugh that wants to escape my mouth so badly.

"Ya know, you don't have to be here, if you're really that scared. I'm sure your mommies are worried sick about you," I say, just to see if he takes the bait.

"I'm not scared," he says harshly. "I just don't want to go to jail tonight."

I pull out my berry colored lip-gloss and start putting it on my lips. "You won't if you do as I say… All right, I'll knock on the door and get him out of the house. As soon as you see us walk away from the house or hear a car turn on, either one, you run inside. And I'll meet you two by that park we passed on the way here. Okay?"

"Okay," Callie says, "…but how are you going to get him out of the house?"

"Let me take care of that." I take off my black jacket and hand it over to her. "Here, watch this for me, will you?" They both give me a strange look as I continue to unbutton my red plaid shirt and tie it on the bottom, so that it shows off my belly.

"Uh…I don't think that's going to work," Callie says. It's obvious that she's questioning my plan.

"Of course it will. He's a man. They're all the same," I say. Brandon gives me a dirty look. Ooopps. I forgot he was there for a second, "Oh, sorry," I say, but we all know that I don't really mean it.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," he says, as he and Callie walk over to the side of the house.

"I can," I whisper.

I make my way over to the door and knock lightly. I glance at the window and see my reflection. I puff up my hair and unbutton the top of my shirt, to show off my chest. I knock again harder and quickly grab a lollipop from my jean's pocket. I peel back the wrapper and throw the lollipop in my mouth. _Think slutty,_ I remind myself.

"Who is it?" I hear an angry man's voice ask.

_Damn, what a grouch. I hope Callie wasn't right about this._

* * *

**Callie's P.O.V.**

This girl is officially a psycho, but she's a psycho that's trying to help me, so I'll take what I can get. We listen to them from the side of the house, and I'm surprised when I hear a seductive voice. Brandon and I have to hold our mouths to keep from laughing.

"Hello, sir. I'm so sorry to bother you so late, but I seem to be having a bit of car trouble. My car won't start, and I think my battery's dead. Normally, I would call for help, but I seemed to have left my phone all the way at home. Would you mind giving me a hand? I've been knocking on doors for almost an hour, but no one seems to want to help me, and I'm sooo exhausted."

_There's no way in hell that's going to work. _I should have had Brandon ask for directions.

"Sure, sweetie. Where's your car?" he asks.

_Hold up. Is this seriously working?_

"Oh, it's only a few blocks down. Not very far at all. You have no idea how grateful I am."

"Not a problem. If it's just the battery, all I have to do is jump-start it. But I'll need my car."

"Thank you so much. I'm sooo glad you're willing to help me," she responds.

"Jude! If Bobby comes out, tell him I'll be right back. I'm going to go help this nice young lady fix her car."

_I can't believe she has this asswhole acting so nice._ It kind of makes me want to throw up. But I see them walking toward his car, and she gives me the thumbs up behind her back. As soon as they drive away, Brandon and I run toward the back.

Words cannot describe how happy I am, when I see Jude in the kitchen. I open the screen door, and Jude's eyes are gleaming the moment he sees me._ God, I love this kid._

"Callie! What are you doing here?" he smiles as I hug him. His tone changes from happy to fearful, "You can't be here! He's going to get really mad again."

"You can't be here either. Go get your bag. Hurry, we're getting out of here."

He smiles back at me, "Wait. Where are we going?"

"I don't know yet, Bud. But hurry, let's go."

Jude runs into his bedroom and starts to pack up.

"Where are you going?" Brandon asks.

"It doesn't matter. I'll figure something out. All I know is, that I have to get Jude the hell out of here. These people are far from safe."

Jude comes out of his room, with his blue duffel bag. I taught him to never fully unpack, because you no home is ever permanent.

"I'm ready," Jude says with a smile and I can't help but smile back.

At that exact moment, Bobby walks out of his bedroom, and the smile left from all of our faces. I couldn't help but feel the fear build up in my bones.

"What the hell are you doing back here?" Bobby asks me harshly.

"I just came to get Jude," I say, praying that he'd leave it at that.

"LIKE HELL YOU ARE! I WANT YOU AND YOUR FRIEND OUT OF MY HOUSE!"

"We're all leaving now," Brandon answers.

"JUDE GET OVER HERE!" Bobby yells. Then, he quickly grabs Jude and pulls him over to his side.

"GET OFF HIM!" I say.

Brandon tries to intervene, "LET HIM GO!"

"Fine, I'll let him go," Bobby answers as he runs over to the coffee table and pulls his dad's gun out.

"Okayokayokayokay," Brandon says as he tries to calm Bobby down.

"GET THE HELL OUT OF MY HOUSE, BEFORE I SHOOT ALL THREE OF YOU!" he yells.

"Okay, we'll leave," I say, knowing that I've made a huge mistake coming here. Brandon and I start backing up slowly toward the front door, until I see a gun come in between us from the corner of my eye.

"POLICE. FREEZE. FREEZE. GET DOWN ON YOUR KNEES NOW. GET DOWN ON YOUR KNEES NNOOWW!"

I see another police officer come in, from the back door with his gun pulled out too, "PUT THE GUN DOWN! PUT THE GUN DOWN!"

Bobby drops the gun onto the floor. He puts his hands up with fear written all over his face, "They were trespassing!"

Jude runs over to me, and I'm so happy that I have him in my arms, right now.

* * *

**Stef's P.O.V.**

I expected to come into this house, and hate Callie and Christina for putting my son into such a dangerous situation. I was ready to tell Lena to call Bill and let him know that this wasn't working out. But when I finally understood the reason why they were here in the first place, I couldn't but feel for Callie and Jude.

After I knew that Mike had complete control over the situation, I looked around and couldn't find Christina, "Uh…where's Christina?"

Brandon and Callie look at each other nervously, as they remember something. The expressions on their faces make me feel nervous.

"We're not sure," Brandon confesses.

"WHAT? Didn't she come here with you? Talya said that you all left together."

"Yes, but she left with their foster dad," Brandon explains.

"Whose foster dad? Why?" I ask, showing my confusion.

"Callie's and her brother's. And because that was her plan."

"So, this was her idea?" I'm not sure whom exactly I should take my anger out on.

"No, it was mine," Callie confesses.

I shake my head. _This is too surreal to be really happening to me right now_. "Where did they go?"

"A few blocks down the road…but she might be at the park by now," Brandon says.

I sigh with frustration, "Get in the car. Mama's in there." Brandon walks out, but Callie and her brother stay put and just stare at me. "Uh…you guys too."

They walk outside immediately, and I can't help but smile.

_What the hell has Lena gotten me into?_

* * *

**Brandon's P.O.V.**

We started driving toward the park, and my mom's phone began ringing. I hope that it's my dad.

"What's up Mike?" Stef says as she puts the phone on speaker.

"The dad showed up and went ballistic. Demanding to know what his son was being arrested for, and started to flip out. I have no choice but to take them both in."

"Do you need me?" Stef asks.

"No, my back up just arrived. But the dad keeps rambling on about some girl who tricked him."

"Did he say what happened? Where she went?"

"He says she lured him out of his house, and told him that her car battery died. And when he went to go help her, she realized she locked her keys in the car. When he tried to pry open the door, she grabbed his car keys from the ignition and took off running."

"What the hell?" she asked. Callie and I couldn't help but crack up in the backseat.

_That girl IS crazy! _

"He said that he had to walk six blocks to get back here."

"All right. Thanks Mike," my mom replied and hung up the phone. "You two are not going to make this easy on me are you?"

"This is the park," I say and she stops the car.

"Where is she?" Lena asks.

"I can go look for her," I answer. My mom nods.

I walk over toward the playground and yell, "CHRISTINA?"

I finally see her lying on a long slide. "What the hell took you so long? I've been waiting here for ages! Running from a grown man, yeah, not as easy as it looks. Where's Callie? And her brother?"

"They're in the car." I answer.

"Whoah, seriously? Whose car did you steal?" she has a smile on her face.

"What? No ones. They're in my mom's car." I answer.

Christina crosses her arms, "Are you for real? Did you seriously call your moms on us?"

"No," I answer and glare at her. "My moms tracked my phone and found us there."

"Oh. My. God. What does that mean?"

"It means get in the car."

"I'm not getting in the car!" She yells back, and I can already tell she's getting ready to pounce.

I see my mom standing in back of her and I know the chances of her getting away are slim to none.

"Yes. You are," My mom says and Christina gets up and walks toward the car.

* * *

**Christina's P.O.V.**

I cannot believe that this freakin kid is on that much of a tight leash. His moms practically have a gps tracking device sticking out of his ass. _What the hell is that?_ You think that he would've mentioned it, before following us to commit a crime. This is the last time I hang out with a cop's kid. They're completely clueless.

When I open the car door, Stef stops me from going in. "Can I talk to you and Callie for a second?"

_Here it comes._

Callie walks around the car, and we both face Stef as she starts talking, "I would really like you to understand how this, tonight, could have ended very very badly."

_Uh, ya think? _I want to answer but don't. I knew that it was risky, which is exactly why I did it. There was something about putting myself in dangerous situations that always attracted me. It's a sickness. I knew that I couldn't give that explanation to her, so I just nod and pretend to understand where she's coming from.

Callie finally answers, "Look if you wanna send us back to juvie… than you just promise me that Jude will be somewhere safe."

_Bitch, speak for yourself! _I want to say, but I refrain from doing so. I know that she only cares about her brother, but did she have to throw me under the bus too. All I did was try to help her out, and she recommends that we both get thrown back into juvie. For what? Planning to steal her brother? And it's only been like what, 5 seconds?

Stef's voice softens after listening to her, "You're not disposable, Callie. You're not worthless." She tries to offer Callie a smile, but Callie doesn't budge.

I just stare at them, wondering if I should keep my mouth shut. But there's something about awkward silences that I hate, "Sooo…What does this mean then?"

"Come on you two. Let's go," she says as she ushers us both into the car.

I'm surprised when I see Callie's brother and offer him a smile, "Hey, you made it out!"

He just gives me a strange look in return.

* * *

**All right. Well, I wanted to keep the whole Stef and Mike coming in the house scene the same. I thought it was too important to just leave out, because it showed Stef the close bond that Callie and Jude have. So, I added a couple twists in it. Sorry if it was kind of repetitive, but whatever.**

**And some of you mentioned, having Callie and Christina become friends and what not and share their experiences etc. I will listen to you and do just that, but it's a working progress. I don't want to do that so early in the story. I mean, they just met, so that would be kind of weird. **

**And thank you guys for reviewing. I always love to read them, and they remind me that people are still reading, which reminds me to update. **

**So keep em' coming :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Stef's P.O.V.**

I'm trying really hard to understand where Lena is coming from, but she's the one who invited these girls into our home. After yesterday's fiasco, she's acting like they're the one's who pointed the guns at Brandon and me.

Maybe all of this just scared her. I love her to death, but she's been too sheltered. I have to deal with this kind of crap all the time at work, so I'm more used to it.

I mean, I hate that Brandon had to be in the middle of it, but I already know that was his decision. Callie and Christina didn't make him go. And after seeing Callie with her brother, I understand why she felt she had to get him out of that house. He wasn't safe, and she's already made it clear to me that Jude's safety comes before everything else.

_Lena would get over this_ I think, as I watch her leave the kitchen to go answer the door for Bill.

When she comes back with him, he takes a seat right next to me and I don't waste time with small talk. "Wanna fill us in on what we're up against?" I ask jokingly, but we all know there's some seriousness to the question.

"Stef," Lena tries to scold. She turns toward Bill, "Would you like some coffee?" She starts to pour him a cup, before he even answers.

"Yes, please," he says, and I can tell by the bags under his eyes that he's exhausted, but I don't mention it. "I've brought over all of the kid's files, so you guys can get a glimpse at what you're dealing with."

"That would be very helpful. Thank you, Bill," Lena says.

Bill takes out 3 manila folders and places them on the kitchen table. "All right. Where do you wanna start first? Or with whom, I should ask."

Lena and I looked at each other. "The siblings, I guess," Lena answered.

I had to ask the question that was eating up at me, and I didn't care if it came off as rude, "Why was Callie in juvie? All we know is that she damaged some of her foster dad's property, but what property and why?" Surprisingly, Lena didn't try to scold me, which led me to believe she was just as concerned about this.

Bill started rummaging through one of the folders, which was the thickest of all three, "Yes, that. She took a baseball bat and destroyed his car, and from what she told police, her foster father was physically abusing Jude. And when she tried to stop him, he started hitting her. That's when she lost control and destroyed his car. I wasn't there, obviously, so I can't tell you if that's what happened for sure. But the police didn't think she was very credible, so they arrested her on the spot, and so on and so forth."

Lena gasped, "Oh my god. So why were they placed in the system to begin with? Where are their parents?"

"Their father was sentenced to 15 years in jail, when Callie was seven. And then a few years later, when Callie was 10 I think….yeah, that's right, her mother died suddenly. Her father obviously wasn't in the picture and there were no other family members to call on, so they were put into the system. Unfortunately, they haven't been able to land anywhere for more than six months at a time. And we keep trying to put them somewhere permanent…but then something happens and we have to move them onto somewhere new."

"Something happens?" I ask. Now I'm definitely concerned. "What exactly does that mean?"

Lena catches my drift, "Something like last night?"

"I feel terrible about that. That is my fault. I had an emergency on another case. Otherwise, I would've been there for Callie and connected her with Jude, and none of that would have happened. They're really great kids. They just have bad luck."

"And what about Christina?" I asked.

"Right. Christina Infante. She's 14 now, but she was put into the system when she was 11, because her mother never reported her missing. We found out that she had been living away from her home for over a year with 3 other kids in an empty house, which had been burned. Because all 3 were minors, all 3 were placed into foster care.

"And where is her father?" Lena asked.

"He was never in the picture…And she's lived in two other foster homes, both of which didn't work out—"

"What do you mean, they didn't work out?" I asked.

Bill flipped through a few more pages, "The first one didn't work out because of some basic rule breaking, and she spray-painted her last foster family's house, which—"

"Is how she landed in juvie," I finished for him.

"Yes."

"Why would she do that?" Lena asked horrified.

"It was no secret to me that she didn't want to be there. And I should have gotten her out of there sooner, but I didn't so—"

"She took matters into her own hands. Kind of like Callie," I finished for him.

* * *

**Christina's P.O.V.**

"Hey, can I borrow your phone real quick?" I ask the first random girl that I see at lunch. The dumb biatch just gives me a dirty look and walks away. "Thanks. Thanks so much for the hospitality! I'm so grateful!" I yell at her. Even though I honestly wanted to punch her in the face. "Bitchhhh," I mutter.

"Kelsey is quite the bitch," I hear a guy's voice say from behind me. I turn around and see some dude with short black hair and blue eyes, "She's probably waiting for her DRUG DEALER to call her back!" he yelled at her. He turned his attention back toward me, "So, it sounds like you need to borrow a phone, newbie? Wanna call your boyfriend?"

"Wanna get outta my face?" I retort. I wasn't in the mood to play 20 questions. _I just want to make one freaking phone call._

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. No need to act all crazy toward me. Who else is going to lend a kid fresh outta juvie their phone?"

I spun around as soon as I heard his last words. "What? Who told you that?"

"Word gets around. Why? Don't want anyone finding out you and your friend committed robbery?" he gave me a cheesy smile.

"I what? Who the hell said that?" I ask annoyed. One of the things that I hate most in this world, is when people spreading lies about me. More importantly people I don't even know.

"Someone. Or maybe you don't want people finding out that you're dealing?"

"Get the hell outta my face, dude," I'm annoyed now, so I start to walk away. But he just rushes up and starts walking beside to me.

"Then what is it? What'd you get locked up for?"

"I'd rather go ask that Kelsey bitch to borrow her phone again—"

"Here," he says as he hands his phone over to me.

I glance at him again, and slowly reach for the phone, incase he tries to snatch it back, but he doesn't. "Thanks," I reply, but I'm not sure I really mean it. "I'll just be right over there," I say as I point to an empty bench on the beach.

"Yup," he replies.

_What the hell is wrong with him?_ I wonder, but my phone call is too important. I quickly dial my best friend's number, but get the voicemail. _Why couldn't she just pick up the freakin' phone?_ "Shanelle, it's me Christina. Where the hell are you at? I wanna come see you, but I don't know exactly where to go. I don't even know why I'm leaving you a voicemail, if you can't even reach me back on this number. Whatever. Anyway, I'm going to go meet you at our spot around this time tomorrow. You better be there!" I practically yell into the phone, but I soften my tone, "See you tomorrow, girl." I hang up and walk back over to the guy. "Thanks…" I say, suddenly feeling like a complete bitch, who didn't even bother to ask for his name.

He reads my mind, "Jasper. And you are…" he smiles, letting me know that I wasn't the only one didn't bother to ask.

"Christina."

"So, Christina. You're not a drug dealer, so…"

"How could you be so sure?" I ask as an attempt to add some mystery, to whatever it is he thinks he knows about me.

"Because I've never heard of a drug dealer who couldn't afford a cell phone?" he smiles.

"Well, maybe I have a cell phone, but don't want to risk using it for this huge deal. I'm that good," I smile at him. "I have other people doing the dirty work for me as we speak," I say as I start to walk away from him. "Thanks for the phone, Jasper," I wave goodbye without even turning around.

* * *

**Mariana's P.O.V**

I can't believe that Christina chick was talking to Jasper. Doesn't she know what a terrible guy he is? Everyone knows that he pulled a gun on some kid from Fallbrook High school and got expelled. That's how he ended up here. _What the hell is she doing?_

_Ugh. Why do I even care?_ I just hope he didn't tell her that I sold him drugs, because that's the last thing I need right now. She'll probably just go blabbing to my moms about it.

I'll deny it anyway. They won't believe her over me. _Or will they?_

Kelsey takes me out of my deep thoughts, when she sits next to me at lunch, "What the hell is your new criminal foster sister doing, talking to Jasper-the-psycho? Like for real, it's like they have some badass-radar, that pinpoints them to other badass kids," she smiles at me. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just tired," I say.

"Well, I'm sure you ought to be. You're probably up all night, trying to make sure the two juvenile delinquents in your house, don't try to set the place on fire," she laughs.

I laugh too, even though I don't think it's all that funny. But Kelsey's my friend and I won't ruin our friendship by defending some random girls, just because they're staying at my house.

"Hey, you think you can hook me up with some more of those pills. I'm running out."

"What? I just gave you like ten of them two days ago?"

"I know. But my sister found them, and she made me share. I'm still going to pay you."

"I don't need the money any more," I say flatly. And it's true. I can't believe I risked going to jail, so that I could help my mother. I shouldn't even call her that anymore. She took the money and practically ran away from me, so that she could meet her dealer. Jesus was right. _How could I be so stupid?_ "Sorry, my brother found out I was taking them from him," I respond.

"No biggie. I just gotta find some other kid with ADHD. That shouldn't be too hard, right?" she asks sarcastically and walks away.

It was moments like these that made me question our friendship.

* * *

_It's after school and Mariana, Callie, Christina, and Jude are walking home._

**Callie's P.O.V**

"So, Christina," Mariana starts. "I saw you talking to Jasper earlier."

"Oh really?" Christina asks, and it's obvious she's not really interested in having this conversation. "Yeah, we talked."

"Well, I wouldn't trust him if I were you?"

Christina gives her a strange look, "Why? Because I should trust people like you?" Christina spat back at her.

"What is your problem?" Mariana asked, and it was apparent that she had no clue what Christina was getting at, but I knew.

"My problem is that I just started a new school, and I have people like you spreading rumors that Callie and I are drug dealers and burglars."

I wanted to laugh at that comment so hard, but refrained from doing so. Last night, I saw Mariana stealing Jesus's pills and now she was calling us drug dealers? The irony was too much.

"I never said that! I just told Kelsey that you were in juvie. I didn't expect her to—"

"To what? Spread lies about us around the whole school? Well she did! I wouldn't give people advice on who they should trust, if I were you."

"Jasper's a bad guy!"

"Why? Because he's the only one, who actually bothered to confront me about any of this? Yeah, he's such a bad guy."

"You know what? Forget it!" Mariana yelled as she continued to walk far ahead of us.

I looked at Christina and couldn't help but smile, even though she was pissed off, "Burglars and drug-dealers?" I asked.

We both burst out laughing. Mariana turned around to give us a dirty look, which only made us laugh harder.

"I heard we stole a cop car and drove it into the San Diego River," I say, which caused us to laugh harder.

Jude was laughing too, "And you too are happy about this because?"

"I don't know," we both say at the same time in between laughs. We stop laughing, once we reach Mariana, who was stopped in front of her house and just looking at it. All three of us exchanged glances and looked at Mariana in confusion.

"What?" I finally ask.

"Why are both my moms home?"

* * *

**So… who do you think should get blamed for the Kelsey situation? Let me know**

**I'm not so sure how I want this to go down, but it will go down nonetheless :)**

**And sorry it's taking me so long to update. Midterms are kicking my ass, and they're still not over :'(**

**I'll be updating **_**Someone Else**_** by tonight. About to type something up, so it might take a while. Be patient with me, please.**


	4. Chapter 4

_Wasn't going to update for a few days, but the idea was just eating at me, and I had to write it out_

* * *

**Christina's P.O.V.**

"Why are both my moms home?" Mariana asked barely above a whisper, after realizing that both of her mother's cars were in the driveway. She turned around to face us.

_Bitch! How are we supposed to know?_ I want to ask her, but I rephrase myself, "Uh… How are we supposed to know? They're your moms!" I answer. _Still rude, but rated PG for the kid._

"No. You don't get it. This isn't good. They're never here at this time. Something must be up," she says as she walks slowly inside.

"Yeah, her paranoia level," I whisper to Callie, but she doesn't laugh. I can tell she's just as afraid as Mariana. We walk in slowly together.

As soon we enter the house, I can see the anger practically radiating off of Lena and Stef's bodies. Lena has her hand on her hip and Stef looks like she's having a hard time breathing from her nose. Both of their eyes are glaring at all of us, and I'm trying to figure out what Mariana and Callie did to tick them off.

"What's going on?" Mariana asks with apparent hesitance in her voice.

_This girl's a horrible actress, _I think to myself.

Stef speaks first, "Mariana, can you take Callie and Jude upstairs please. We need to talk to Christina."

_Hmmm, this should be interesting._

Mariana, Jude, and Callie all look in my direction, but I don't budge.

Stef senses Mariana's reluctance, "Go ahead, sweets. She'll be right up."

I watch as all three of them make their way up the stairs.

* * *

"Christina," Stef says as she points me toward one of the seats. I sit down, and they take a seat next to each other. Stef folds her hands together and places them on top of the table, "We've been told that you, uh…stole Jesus's pills and have been selling them at school. Is this true?" Both woman stare at me, as if they don't need a response from me to answer their question.

I just look at them and I'm not sure how to react. Part of me wants to burst out laughing at the insanity of the ridiculous question, and part of me is still trying to process what she just asked me. I look at both women, as if I wasn't sure if I was spoken to or not. There is a long silence, before I can finally say something, "Are you being serious with me right now?"

I wait for them to respond, hoping that they'd say they were just joking, but knowing that the chances of that happening were slim to none.

Lena buds in, "A student, who's name I can't reveal, has come forward and informed me that you have sold her drugs at the school. Jesus's drugs."

"Is this true?" Stef asks.

I'm finally able to process, what they're saying, "Wow! That bad?" I ask.

"Excuse me?" Stef asked and they both stare at me, with confusion written all over their faces.

"That bad? You want me outta here that bad, that'd you make up some crap like this, to get me thrown back in juvie? Wow! Okay. That's cool. So, when's Bill coming?"

"What?" Lena asked.

I suddenly remember, "Or David? Yeah, David. Bill's probably too busy. He's always pretty busy."

"We haven't talked to him yet," Stef answered "Bu—".

"Well, what are you waiting for?" I spat at her. "For him to call you? Yeah, fat chance! Better call him before 5. You're not gonna be able to reach him after that. Then, you're going to have to wait till morning and that could really but a damper on—"

"Did you do it?" Stef interrupted me now.

"Do what? Sell drugs to some random person you both concocted in your own minds. Noooo… I don't have the power to do that, yet. You see, I was too busy learning how to teleport from here to Timbukto all day. Damn, my fault. I was going to get a head start on what you're talking about tomorrow. You know, I thought I needed some practice first... But thanks for asking." I say and I start to stand up and walk toward the backyard, "Do let me know when David shows up. I wouldn't want to keep him waiting."

* * *

**Lena's P.O.V.**

Stef and I just stare at each other, trying to mentally assess the situation, but none of it makes any sense to me.

"What just happened?" I finally ask.

Stef pulls her hand to her forehead, "I don't even know, love."

"Well, what do we do? We've known Kelsey since she was 10. We've only known Christina for—"

"A couple days." Stef finishes for me. "But she thinks we made it up."

"But we didn't," I remind her. "And she is a juvenile delinquent."

"And then there's that…Are you sure she didn't say it was Callie?" Stef asks me.

"Positive. Black long hair, green eyes, Mariana's foster sister. Callie only fits one of those descriptions."

Stef let out a long sigh.

* * *

**Callie's P.O.V.**

Mariana stayed downstairs eavesdropping, while Jude and I went into her room. _Why they would send Jude and I upstairs, is beyond me. _All of our stuff is in the living room, but they apparently didn't want us to hear their conversation. A few minutes passed, before I hear Jude finally speak.

He's standing over by the window, gazing out of it, "Hey Callie?"

His voice takes me out of my daze, "Yeah, buddy?"

"Why is Christina leaving? Did they threaten to send her away?"

"We don't know that, kid. Let's not jump to any conclusions."

"Yeah we do. She's climbing over the fence in the backyard right now. See?"

I stand up quickly; suddenly realizing Jude is being serious. By the time I get to the window, I see Christina on the other side of the fence, running from the house.

"Is she coming back?" Jude asks calmly.

I try to remain calm as well. The last thing I want to do is freak him out, "I don't think so, bud."

"Should we tell Stef and Lena?"

"Probably not. But if anybody asks, you didn't see anything. Okay?"

"Okay," he responds and just shrugs his shoulders.

_What the hell is this girl doing?_ I wonder. I want to run down the stairs and chase after her, but that'd get Stef and Lena's attention and make things worse. _What the hell had they talked about anyway? Why did she feel the need to just bolt?_

Mariana comes in the room and sees us staring at the window, "What are you two looking at?"

"Oh. Nothing. So, what happened down there?" I ask knowing that she probably knows more than we do.

"Oh. Nothing. I don't really know. They were talking pretty low," she shrugs.

"Uh-huh," I answer, knowing that she's lying to me. But I don't push the question anymore.

* * *

**Mariana's P.O.V.**

I'm sitting in my bed, trying to do everything possible to distract me from thinking about what happened. Callie and Jude went downstairs, shortly after the moms and Christina finished their conversation. I've done my English homework and my algebra homework. Unfortunately, I still can't get the thought of Christina getting sent back to juvie out of my head. I mean, I don't even like the girl very much. After that huge argument we had while walking home, I should be glad she's probably leaving. But, juvie? For something that she didn't even do?

God, why did I have to have a conscience? I grab a magazine from my backpack and start to flip through it, drowning myself in the pictures.

Jesus walks in without knocking of course. "Hey," he says, but I don't bother looking up at him.

_God, I have to get a lock on that door!_

He walks over and sits on the bed beside me, "You really gonna let Christina take the fall for you? They're going to send her away."

_Why did he have to come home now?_

_Why couldn't he go practice volleyball at the school or something?_

_Why did he have to be so right, at the moment?_

I start to calm down as the voice of reason comes to me, and unfortunately that voice of reason was Jesus.

_Go figure!_

"They're going to be so mad at me," I practically whisper. "… The other night, when Ana just took all that money from me, like I was an ATM or something, not even a person, much less her daughter… I thought well, hey, at least I have two moms at home who love me…They're going to hate me," I say as I start to cry.

Jesus jumped in, "They're not gonna hate you. I promise."

I know he's right, though. They have never told me they hated me even once. But I still don't want to disappoint them. "They're totally going to cancel my Quinceañera."

Jesus just shrugs his shoulders, and we both stop talking when we hear a knock on the door. "Come in," I say.

Callie walks in, "Hey, sorry about that. Can I talk to you for a minute?" she asks me.

"I get the point. I'm gone," Jesus says and looks back at me, "You just do what you gotta do. Come talk to me afterwards."

"If I'm still breathing," I joke and Jesus walks out of the room.

"What's up?" I ask her.

"Have you heard what happened?"

"Yeah, and I'm on my way to confess," I respond.

She looks at me like she's about to say something, but changed her mind.

"Is that it?" I ask.

"Yeah, I guess."

* * *

I walk slowly down the stairs and into the kitchen, dreading the conversation that I was about to have with my moms.

They're preparing for dinner and getting the salad ingredients ready, and they barely stop moving when I walk in, making it harder for me to get the right words out. "Hi?" Lena says, knowing that I've come downstairs for something.

Suddenly, I want to run back upstairs and read every single magazine I've ever owned. I turn back around and see Jude staring at me, which causes me to face them. _I just have to blurt it out. If they don't hear me, that's their problem._

"Christina didn't sell Kelsey the drugs."

Both of my moms freeze, when they hear what I have to say. Lena speaks first, "Did Christina put you up to this?"

"What? No. I haven't seen her, since you sent me upstairs… but she didn't sell her the drugs."

"Where did she ADHD medication from then?" Stef asked confused, but then put two-and-two together, "Mariana."

"I didn't mean for this to happen."

Lena spoke next, "Why would you sell your brothers pills in the first place?"

"Because… I needed the money," I answer, hoping that the questions would end there, and they'd ground me for eternity and get it over with.

"For what?" Stef asked infuriated.

"I can't tell you," I whisper.

"I'm sorry? You can't what?" Stef asked, and I knew she was extremely pissed off at me already, letting them know I was in contact with my birth mom behind their back would just make matters all the more worse.

"It doesn't matter what I needed the money for! The point is that Christina didn't sell the pills! I did! So, there should be no reason why she should get sent back to juvie."

* * *

**Stef's P.O.V.**

Lena must've sense that I was about to go off on that girl, because she sent her upstairs so we could discuss it calmly. I'm sure Mariana was thankful that she did that, because I don't know what I've would've done.

"She thinks she can just confess something and leave out whatever information she pleases?" I ask Lena, trying to make some sense of the whole confession that just happened.

"We're not done with her. She'll tell us what happened. We first need to discuss the Christina situation," Lena answers.

"What situation? She didn't do it. You heard Mariana."

Lena leaned against the kitchen table, "Yes, I heard her, Stef. But we just accused her of stealing Jesus's pills and threatened to call Bill."

"No, she told us to call Bill."

"Well, we didn't say we weren't going to."

"Yeah, well that's because we thought she stole his pills, I remind her."

"But she didn't."

"I know, but she didn't say she hadn't done it, either."

"Oh my God, I'm getting a migraine," Lena says as she puts her hand on her head.

"We won't call Bill then."

"What I'm trying to get at is, what are we going to say to her?"

"We're going to apologize. What else is there to say?" I answer her.

Lena and I open the screen door and walk outside to the backyard. We see Brandon sitting on a chair, texting Talya I'm guessing. We both glance around and find no sign of Christina.

I speak first, "B, have you seen Christina. She came out here, a little bit ago."

"Uh. Nope. I've been here for longer than that and haven't seen her. She's probably inside."

Lena and I exchange looks, thinking that we would've heard her come in, if that were the case…

* * *

**HOT DAMN! Where did Christina go?**

**I have no freakin' clue yet, but she went there…**

**And at the time of writing this, I had more votes for Christina getting blamed for the Kelsea situation, than Callie. I had some votes for both, but that would've been so much harder for me to write. Like Callie would have reacted one type of way, and Christina would have reacted another and then if Christina left, then I would have to include some more info on Callie's feelings vs Christina's and how they felt about each other's feelings toward it and blahblahblah I'm confusing myself, just thinking about it. **

**And I wanted Mariana to confess, so I had Callie cut her and Jesus's conversation short, so she couldn't ask Jesus to come with her to tell the moms the truth, and he wouldn't have taken the blame for her. **

**But then, I didn't want her to confess everything, because then Stef wouldn't have gone to Ana's bf's house and gotten shot. (Which I wouldn't have minded to take out, except for the fact that she proposed to Lena, while she was in the hospital bed) So that would've made me take out the entire wedding :( and I wasn't too eager to do that.**

**Omg! I didn't realize, how changing one little thing could throw everything else that happened after that off completely.**


	5. Chapter 5

_Rated I don't even know for 2 or 3 bad words :p and some mature content. Not really "mature-mature", there's not like a sex scene or anything, but you know what I mean__**.**_

* * *

**Christina's P.O.V.**

I ran as fast as I could out of that place.

_Screw that! If I'm going to juvie again, I'm going to make sure it's for something I actually DID. _

_What the hell is their problem? Do they just bring juvie kids in their house, only so they can throw them back in again?_

_I knew I shouldn't have trusted that cop. I should have told David that there was no way in hell I was staying there._

_I should have known. Well, whatever lesson learned._

_Poor Callie is in for one heck of a trip. I should have tried to warn her, but I knew I'd be risking too much by staying any longer._

I'm a few blocks away, when I start to run out of breath. I didn't want to stop, because I didn't want to get caught by the wicked-bitch-of-the-west.

_I need to at least warn my friends at juvie about those people._

As soon as I stop a black Honda Accord coupe pulls over beside me.

"Running from the police or something?" I young light-skinned guy asked. I couldn't tell what he really looked like from where I was standing and the darkness of the inside of his car.

"Ha-ha. Funny," I reply. _You have no freakin' clue how right you are._

"Need a lift?" he asks.

I think for a second. The smart idea would be to say, _'No, dude. You're a stranger. I'm sorry but thanks for offering.' _

But the fun idea would be to not think too much about the smart idea and just get in, to take a chance.

"Hello?" he asks wondering if I heard him at all.

"Um…" just as I'm about to decline, I start to hear police sirens.

_The fun idea just became the smart idea all of a sudden._

* * *

I get in the car quickly and slam the door shut.

"Damn girl. I wasn't going to kick you back out," he smiles.

I smile too, "Sorry, just I'm not used to your car. I didn't mean to slam it."

"No problem. I'm Vico by the way."

"Christina."

"I've seen you in school; you're the new girl right? The one staying with the VP?"

"The one who STAYED with the VP. Never doing that again," I smile.

Vico start driving down the row slowly, "I hear ya. That lady is straight up evil. Gave me detention today. That's where I just came from actually."

"Figured."

"What? That I would get detention? Do I look like a trouble maker or something?" he moved his hand up to his chest over his heart, to pretend that he was deeply offended.

"No, I just figured that she was straight up evil."

Vico kept driving. "So am I going the right direction? Where are we headed?" he turned to the side to face me.

"I don't know you tell me?" I flirt, or at least try to. _To be honest, I'm not even sure where to go. I want to go see my best friend, but I have no clue where to meet her. The last time we talked on the phone, she was in the process of moving to another foster home. We never discussed the details, because I didn't think I'd get out so soon._

"Oh really?" he laughed. "Well, I was on my way to the pier to drop off some beer and run a few more errands. There's going to be party tonight. You should definitely come. Things could get quite interesting."

"I bet they would."

"So that's a yes then?"

"What the hell, right?"

"What the hell," he finished.

* * *

**Lena's P.O.V.**

Stef and I run inside as soon as we realize that Christina is no longer in the backyard. Stef starts scanning the house. Callie walks into the kitchen.

"Callie, is Christina upstairs? Have you seen her?" I ask

"Uh, no. I haven't seen her since Stef sent Jude and me upstairs. Why? What happened?"

"I'm not sure yet, but I think she's gone. Do you have any idea where she might be? Did she mention anyone to you? I know you guys probably got along more than we did," I ask.

"No she didn't mention anyone."

"Ok, thank you honey."

"Yup," she replies and leaves the kitchen.

Stef returns, "I'm going to go look for her. She couldn't have gotten very far on foot." She grabs the car keys from the bowl in the kitchen. "I'll call as soon as I know anything."

"Okay," I reply.

_This is all my fault. If I had brought those girls here, none of this would be happening._

* * *

**Brandon's P.O.V.**

"Hey, did Aiden get here yet?" I ask as I barge into the kitchen. I stop in my tracks when I see Mama sitting down at the kitchen table, leaning over it with her head down, and her hands on the crown of her head.

_Something must've happened,_ I thought.

"Hey Mama. You okay? What's going on?" I ask in a concerned voice.

My Mom lifts her head from her hands and sits up straight, "Oh nothing, B. Christina took off. Again," she stressed the last word.

"Really? Where'd she go?" I ask. _I can't say I'm surprised. That girl is completely out of her mind. I knew she was crazy ever, since before we went on our mission to save Jude. But I didn't think she'd pull something like this, just two days later._

"I'm not sure. Your mom went to go see if she could find her."

"Okay. Well let me know if there is anything I can do to help," I reply.

"Thank you, honey."

The doorbell rings. "That's Aiden."

"Go ahead," she gestures me away from the kitchen. I feel bad leaving her like this, but I don't want to keep Aiden waiting.

I open the door for Aiden. "Come on in," I say flatly. He could obviously tell that something was wrong by my expression.

"You alright?" he asks and reluctantly walks in.

"Yeah. You know. My new foster sister just ran away, and it's causing some drama. I should've seen this coming," I answer as I close the door.

"The pretty one that was at the school today? With the long dark hair and the green eyes?"

"Yeah, you met her?"

"No, but I just saw her get into Vico's car on my way here. It looked like something was going on with her."

"Really? Where were they going?"

"Probably to that party at the pier. I'm guessing. All the cool kids go there, and Vico's not one to miss a party."

"I'll be right back. I gotta tell my mom about this."

* * *

**Christina's P.O.V.**

The party was about to start and it was getting pretty dark. Vico and I had been running around picking up liquor and other snacking food all over the place and dropping them off here.

"Hey, I think there's one more case in the car. Wanna help me with it?" he asks.

_Wanna tell me why you can't pick up a 24 pack of beer by yourself?_ I wanna ask. But he got me out of a tight situation, so I should at least be nice to him. "Sure," I reply as we walk back over to the car.

"So, where are you going after this? Any big plans?" he asks.

"Uh, I don't know. I'm not much of a planner, in case you couldn't tell," I smile. "I like doing things at the spur of the moment. Life's more fun that way. Plus, you can't really be disappointed about anything, if you have no expectations, right?"

"I like that way of thinking. You know, you're not like a lot of the girls around here? You're different."

_What the hell is that supposed to mean?_ I think, but I don't ask him that way, "Different good? Or different bad?"

He laughs. "Different very good. No one wants to be around a predictable person."

"True."

Vico opens the passenger seat door, "Get in."

"What?"

"Just get in. I can be unpredictable too, ya know?" He gives me a flirty smile.

"I guess that I shouldn't even bother asking where we're going then, huh?" I ask as I get in.

He closed the door and walks around to the passenger side and gets in. "Who said we were going anywhere?" he replies as he closes the door and leans in to kiss me. I kiss him back, not entirely sure why. He was kind of cute and I liked to see this sporadic side in someone else other than myself.

He pulls his face away from mine, "Did you predict that?"

I smile at him, "Maybe."

He leans in again, "What about this?" he kisses me and pulls the lever on my seat so that it'd recline backward as he kept his lips on mine. There was no way I could actually back away at the moment, so I removed my lips from his and moved my face to the side.

"Alright, that's enough, Vico." _Is this dude serious?_ I wonder.

"What do you mean? You said you wanted to party. Didn't you?" He lowered his kisses onto my neck.

"Yeah, but I'm not comfortable with this. I just met you."

"Exactly. You said you wanted unpredictable. You're used to doing things at the spur of the moment. So, don't think to much about it, okay?"

_I did say that_, I thought. I just lay there and continued to let him kiss me on my neck and back on my lips.

_I'm not a hypocrite_, I reasoned. He moved his hands to my belly and started to pull up my shirt. That's when I knew I had enough.

I pushed his body away from mine with my hands, "I like unpredictability. But I never said I was easy either." I tried to open the door handle and pull myself up but he grabbed hold of my arm, slammed the car door shut, and pushed me back down.

"Yeah, well I'm not finished!" he yelled.

* * *

**Stef's P.O.V.**

_Black Honda Accord coupe. Black Honda Accord coupe. There's gotta be a million of those around here,_ I thought as I reached the pier and started driving around in the parking lots with my windows rolled down. The tints on my car made it almost impossible to see at night.

_If I find the car, then I'll at least know that she's here. What the hell is wrong with her anyway? Who gets in a car with a complete stranger? I know Vico goes to the school with the kids, but that's all I know, and she probably knows even less than that. She's been here for how long? A couple of days?_

_This girl is not making this easy for me? I know she didn't take the drugs and sell them at school, but she still disappeared twice on us now, and put herself in danger. I just told scolded them about this last night. It's like she wasn't listening to a word I was saying. It's like she has a death wish or something_.

_I don't think Lena and I can handle her. I'm going to have to call Bill, if I actually do find her. She refuses to listen to me, and I don't need the added stress. It's bad enough Mariana is selling drugs at school and Jesus is always acting up, but now this…And what should I do about Callie and Jude? How do I explain to Christina that it's not working out, but keep the other two in my home? _

_And why do I keep contradicting myself? I need to make a decision and I need to make it now. Maybe I won't even find her, and I could avoid this confusion all together._

Just as I was about to call it quits and go home, I saw another Black Honda Accord Coupe come up to the right of me. I run the zillionth license plate in the system and before my search results pop up I could hear a girls scream.

"Get off me you stupid fuck!"

I glance up at the car and could tell it was coming from there. I quickly get out of my car, draw my gun, and walk slowly over to driver's side of the car. The windows are tinted really dark, and the night only adds to the little visibility that I have.

"Shut up! Just let it happen!" I hear a guy yell.

At the exact moment that I almost reach the car door handle, there's a collision against the window, which startles me, and the glass shatters and falls to the ground, barely missing my hands. "YOU BITCH!" the guy yells and I hear a slap.

"FREEZE! POLICE! GET OUT OF THE CAR WITH YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR!" I yell as loudly as I could, to the only thing that I can see, the top of a guy's head with a huge bloody gash on his hairline. I guess that it's from the collision against the window.

Long silence.

"I SAID GET OUT OF THE CAR WITH YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR!" I yell even lounder than the first

The head moves and the car slowly opens. A guy, my guess Vico, steps out of the car with his hands in the air. I keep my gun on him, incase he makes a false move.

"She attacked me! That girl is insane!"

"And you're a piece of shit!" the girl in the car yelled back.

* * *

**To be continued…**

**Sorry I haven't updated my stories recently. I've been really really busy with school and tests. I actually should be studying for my Business Math one right now, but I'm procrastinating. **

**And a guest wanted me to add Vico into the story, so that's what I did. So thanks for the idea btw. It made me come up with this chapter.**

**Please review. And feel free to shoot me any more ideas?**


	6. Chapter 6

**Stef's P.O.V.**

"UP AGAINST THE CAR!" I yell at the built young man who steps out with his hands in the air.

He doesn't listen to me, "Officer, thank God you got here when you did. This crazy girl attacked me, when I tried to stop her from stealing my car." He pointed in the direction of Christina.

I could barely see her though, being that the car door was only a quarter-way open. I could only make out the outline of her black leather jacket.

"Like I'd really steal this piece of shit you call a car!" I hear Christina yell from the inside of the car. Strangely, I relax a little after hearing her voice. I don't have a clear vision of her, but at least I know that she's fine. I make sure not to lose my focus and keep my eyes on Vico.

I see him lower his hands from the air to his jeans, in an effort to keep them from falling down and exposing himself. I keep my eyes on his hands, as I am trained to do in these situations, and notice that his zipper was open, "I was just protecting myself, mam. I swear."

I could see right though him. Not to mention, I heard the tail of their argument and heard him slap her. "And you had to do lower your pants in order to do so?" I ask him rhetorically. I shove my gun in its holster and reach behind my back to grab my cuffs. I walk closer to him and physically turn his body around and shove him up against the car.

"It's not what it looks like, mam. You got it all wrong." I throw my cuffs around both his wrists. "That girl is straight up nuts," he claims, which just causes me tighten the cuffs even more.

"OW!" he yelled in pain as the metal pressed against his skin.

"A little friendly advice, stop talking," I mutter in his ear.

Just as I'm about to open the passenger seat door to ask Christina if she's all right, I hear the driver's side door open, and see Christina bolting again. "CHRISTINA! STOP!" I yell out for her, but she acts as if she didn't hear me.

"Shit!" I mutter as I lower Vico onto the ground, so that he wouldn't try to run too. As soon as he's down, I start running after her. "CHRISTINA! STOP RIGHT THERE!" I yell as I try to catch up to her. "POLICE!" I yell hoping that it would frighten her enough to stop, but to my surprise it doesn't.

_Is this girl seriously running from a police officer?_

* * *

**Christina's P.O.V.**

_How did this crazy bitch find me? _

I keep running, knowing that there's no way in hell I'm stopping now. She keeps yelling my name and telling me to stop, but I'm not listening to a damn thing she says anymore.

_Screw her if she thinks I'm stopping for her conniving ass! _

All of a sudden, I'm forced to stop short when I see two cars speed right passed me. If I hadn't stopped when I did, they would've run me over for sure.

After I got over the shock of almost dying, I try to pick up my speed again, but Stef grabs hold of my arms from behind.

"GET OFF OF ME!" I yell at her as I try to pull myself from her grasp.

"Stop. Fighting. Me," she says in between breaths as she tugs forcibly on my arms.

"THEN GET OFF OF ME AND I WILL!" I yell at her, as if this situation could be solved if she just let me go.

We continue to struggle for a minute or two, and I eventually have to give in, "ALRIGHT! ALRIGHT! YOU WIN! I'LL STOP FIGHTING! GOD!" I calm my tense body out of exhaustion. I had been fighting Vico in the car and was all out of energy by the time I bolted. She had an advantage over me from the beginning, and I was pissed.

I curse myself for not being quieter while opening the car door.

After Stef sees that I'm no longer trying to get away, I can sense that she calms down too. She just grabbed hold of my upper right arm, "Alright, let's go," she says, and I'm forced to walk side-by-side with her back to the car.

_I cannot believe this chick. _

_All of this, and I'm still back in the same freakin' position I was in a few hours ago._

* * *

When we reach Vico's car, I see him handcuffed and lying on the ground. I assume that she's going to throw my ass on the floor too, but she pushes me onto the passenger seat of his car.

I try to pull my feet into the vehicle, but she stops me by telling me to face toward her. She already knew that I was going to try to bolt from the other side again."Uh, no-no. Your feet stay on the ground," she says sternly as she points to the floor beside the car.

"I told you she's nuts!" Vico yells. "I bet she has a record and everything."

"And I bet you better shut the hell up!" I yell back at him and try to stand up so that I can kick him while he's lying on the ground. But Stef pushes me back into the car.

"Alright. Alright," she tries to calm me down, as if I were a freakin' miniature poodle. I give her a dirty look, but she doesn't see it.

She takes out her cell-phone and starts to make a phone call. I hear her talk a few seconds later, "Hey Mike. I could use some help here. I'm at the pier in parking lot 6A. Please tell me you're close by…" She waits for a reply. "That's good enough. I'll fill you in as soon as you get here. Thanks."

I lean my head against the black leather seat, suddenly realizing that I'm definitely going back to juvie. It's only been 3 days and I'm already going back and I didn't even get to see Shanelle or Tasha.

I shut my eyes and pretend I'm somewhere else.

Anywhere else than where I am right now.

* * *

I'm forced to open my eyes, at the sound of Stef's voice. She's bent down so that she's directly in front of me and her voice sounds much softer. She's no longer yelling at me. "Hey are you okay?" she asks.

"Why wouldn't I be?" I retort. "I mean, I'm crazy. Didn't you hear? I tried to steal his car and I attacked him."

Stef shakes her head, "Christina, you and I both know that's not what happened."

"Then, what did happen huh? Since you're the expert on the truth. What else did I do? What other crime are you going to try to pin on me?"

"Alright, I deserve that."

_What the hell is she talking about?_ _This chick is definitely on some bipolar shit right now. _

"Whatever lady," I reply as I shake my head.

Stef's expression softens, "Look, I know we got off on the wrong foot here—"

"Ya think?" I ask her sarcastically.

But I can't help but be a bitch sometimes, especially in situations that involve the police. And especially in situations when I'm being accused of something I didn't do.

Stef's eyes widen and her nostrils flare a bit and I can tell that she's getting frustrated with me. But honestly, I don't really care.

_It's her fault that I'm in this whole mess to begin with and in an hour or so, I'll never have to see her again._

She lets out a huge breath and tries to contain herself, "What I'm trying to do is apologize."

"For what?" I ask.

"For not believing you about the pills. I know that you didn't steal them and Lena and I shouldn't have accused you."

"It's fine," I say flatly.

_Nothing she says now is going to make a difference, so I try to keep this conversation as short as possible._

"No, it's not fine."

"Yeah it is. It's totally cool. I wasn't surprised anyway," I shrug my shoulders, trying to convince her that I wasn't affected by any it; but more so, trying to convince myself. I shouldn't let what other people think about of me get to me; especially people that I know are only in my life temporarily.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked confusingly.

"It means I wasn't surprised. You're a cop. I shouldn't have trusted you. That was my mistake to begin with. I know better for next time. So, thanks."

"That's not fair, Christina. I brought you into my home—"

I interrupt her. Another bad habit of mine, "Yeah. Thanks for that. I've had a blast. Can't you tell?" I ask, gesturing to my surroundings. "A cop in my face, the smelly ass car I was almost raped in a few minutes ago, the dumb-ass on the floor that almost raped me, and the fact that I'm in the middle of nowhere. Thank you for this. Seriously. I'll be forever grateful." _There goes my sarcasm again, rearing its ugly head_.

Stef stands up and leans her hand on the hood of Vico's car, "Christina, I'm sorry about what this idiot did to you, but I didn't put you in this position. You did. Remember?"

"Whatever," I shake my head in protest, not wanting to hear another word from her mouth.

"You put yourself in danger last night too. Remember? Luring a grown man out of his house, walking with him to the middle of nowhere, stealing his keys, and then running from him. Now today, you run away from my home and get into a stranger's car like it's nothing… Do you not realize how dangerous these situations are, Christina? I mean, if I hadn't shown up here when I had, then—"

"Oh please, Stef. You didn't save my ass or anything. I was handling the situation; so just save it, please."

"Oh really?" she asked in disbelief.

"Yes, really. I would have been perfectly fine had you not shown up."

"That's not how I see it," she replied as she crossed her arms over her body.

"Well, I'm not really interested in how you see things. I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself. And I didn't ask you to follow me either, so don't blame me because you chose to waste your time here."

Stef just stared at me in disbelief and turned her gaze to a silver car that had just pulled up next to us.

* * *

_Thank God, someone is here to save me from having to continue this argument._

An older man gets out of his car and glances at Vico, "What's going on Stef?"

"I caught this young man attacking Christina," she tells him.

"That's not true officer," Vico tries to convince Mike.

Stef ignores his comment, "And there's a case of beer in the backseat, so whatever you can get him on is fine. Run his plates. All of his information is there. I have something I have to take care of. You'll be okay?"

"Yup. Got it."

"Thanks, Mike. I really appreciate it."

"Not a problem," he replies as he picks Vico up from the floor.

Stef grabs my arm, pulls me out of Vico's car and walks me over to her own. She opens the passenger-side door and pushes me in.

I watch her walk around the front of the car and stare at her in confusion. She gets in from the other side and turns on the ignition. And without saying a word, she slowly drives out of the parking lot.

* * *

**Ok, so I keep getting requests to make a Stef/Christina bonding moment, so I'm on the verge of doing so. Obviously they're not exactly bonding at the moment, but the car ride should get better. The other characters will be included in the next chapter too, and the Mariana pill situation has to be dealt with.**

**And I'll be uploading my stories a little more often, being that I have off of school all week and don't have to worry about a thing :)**

**Anyways, thanks for reading**


	7. Chapter 7

**Stef's P.O.V.**

After leaving the pier with Christina, the car ride had been a long and silent one. This was mainly my fault. I had been driving around aimlessly, contemplating on what I should do with this girl. The easiest thing to do would have been to tell Bill to come and get her, to tell him that she had been causing too many problems, which isn't a lie.

She disappeared on us twice in three days.

But every once in a while, I glance at her face while pretending to check for cars in the side-view mirror. She still has her arms crossed and is staring straight ahead, not once, willing to make eye contact with me, but her eyes tell a different story. To my surprise she looks terrified. And even though its dark outside, I can still see the red mark on her left cheek from where Vico hit her.

"Where are we going?" she asks. "You're going the wrong way. The police station is back that way," she claims, matter of factly.

When I don't answer her, she turns her head to face me, "Uh, hello? I demand to know where you're taking me." The sternness of her voice really makes me want to laugh. I can tell she's frightened when I don't answer her, because she sinks back down in her seat.

Long silence.

She turns to face me again. "Can you let me out of the car?" she asks.

"No," I reply, which causes her face back forward.

Long silence again.

She faces me again, "Look lady, whatever you're thinking about doing. Don't do it, okay. I know people. BIG people. And they know exactly where I've been staying. So whatever plan you've concocted in your head that'll result in my demise, forget it, okay. If anything happens to me, they will come after you. I can promise you that. So, your best bet, is to let me out of the damn car, before you do something that you'll regret."

I try my best to keep a straight face and stare at the road, but her soliloquy was too funny, and I have to burst out laughing. _What exactly does she think I'm going to do?_ I wonder.

She looks astounded that I think her behavior is hilarious.

She tightens her eyelids together, "Oh my God. Help me Jesus. This woman is out of her damn mind."

I reach my hand over to touch her arm and relax her, but she opens her eyes and starts screaming at the top of her lungs, "Ahhhhhhhh! GET OFF OF ME, YOU PSYCHOTIC BITCH!" She slaps my hand away.

Her screams make me nervous and I'm forced to pull over. "Christina, relax," I say in a stern voice but make sure not to yell, because I know that would only make things worse.

As soon as I pull over, she tries to open the passenger side door, but I put the safety lock on, so that she wouldn't try anything stupid. This seemed to have stressed her out more so, because now she's banging on the glass window attempting to break it.

I'm forced to pull her arms backward, so that she doesn't hurt herself, but she doesn't stop ranting, "Please don't kill me. Please don't kill me. Look, I'm sorry about whatever I did to you to piss you off. But please don't kill me and burry me out here in the middle of nowhere. I don't want to die. Please, I'm begging you," she sobbed.

_What?_ Is all I could think.

I could tell by her voice that she was seriously frightened of me. I pull her all the way back, so that I could see her face fully. Her eyes were shut completely and I can see tear streaks on her face.

I release her slowly and she backs up against the passenger door. She opens her eyes and I can see her looking at me frighteningly.

"Sweetie, I wasn't going to hurt you," I try to soothe in my motherly voice.

"Then, where were you taking me?" she asked in between breaths. "The police station was in the other direction." She points behind us.

"I was thinking of what to do with you," I reply, which I suddenly realize was the wrong thing to say.

"Oh my God, you were going to kill me," she covers her mouth so that she couldn't scream, and I can see more tears starting to form in her eyes and then run down her face.

I try to reach my hand out to her, but she lifts her arms up in defense mode and shuts her eyes again, as if anticipating an attack.

"Okay, okay. I won't touch you." I reply with my hands up in front of my body, so that she could see, that I was harmless. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that."

She opens her eyes and moves her arms from covering her face, but she keeps them in front of her body, as if she is waiting for met to go back on my word. "I just want to go to the police station. Please just take me there. Please," she pleaded.

"Okay, okay," I reply to keep her calm. I turn the engine back on, make a U-turn, and start driving in the opposite direction. Eventually I can see that she's no longer crying, but she's still backed up against the passenger door and her eyes are fixed on me. "You know it's not good to sit like that. It's quite dangerous actually."

"I DON'T CARE!" she yells.

This surprises me, because I was only looking out for her wellbeing.

* * *

We sat in silence throughout the majority of the drive.

"Okay…You know, I wasn't going to hurt you. I'm not crazy. I was just laughing because I thought what you said was funny. I didn't mean to scare you," I kept glancing at her while I spoke.

"Then, why were you going the wrong way?" she snapped as she asked the question.

"Because I was confused about something and I was thinking about it, while I was driving."

She stayed silent, but I was burning to ask her the question, "Why would you think I was driving you out here, so that I would kill you?" I pull up in the police station's parking lot and put the car in park.

"No reason," she replies and I know that she is lying. My cop instincts tell me that something must've triggered her to react that way. No one breaks out in a mess of tears and throws a tantrum for no reason.

"Are you sure about that?" I ask as I try to put my hand on her knee, but suddenly remember that she's not too good with human contact.

She saw my hand come close to her and instinctively moved her knee out of the way. But she calmed down when she saw that I put my hand back to my side, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to try to touch you. I just communicate a lot physically… But why were you so afraid of me? Is it because I'm a cop?"

"No," she says flatly.

"Then what?" She doesn't answer me, and I'm not sure if I should press her anymore than I already have. I know that she's had a tough day. Especially after the pill thing happened, then Vico, and then me. But I ask her again anyway, "Why did you think I was going to hurt you?"

"Because of my mom," she replies and tries to wipe away her tears.

I can't help but be confused. "What do you mean, your mom?"

She let out a deep breath, "She tried to kill me, okay."

Just as I was about to say something, she continued, "…She was extremely mad at me one night, and she drove me out in the middle of the dessert. She tried to hit me with a shovel, and I knew that she was going to burry me right then and there. So I ran from her and I never saw her again after that."

It takes me a little while to process what Christina had just confessed. And then suddenly, her reaction to my driving her out in the desert makes perfect sense to me. She saw me as a threat because I was an older woman, her foster-mom, who was angry with her and driving her in the middle of nowhere with no explanation.

"Look Christina, I'm sorry for making you feel that way. I promise you that that was not my intention. If I had known about this—"

"It doesn't matter," she shakes her head and leans up from her position against the door, wiping her tears from her eyes with her sleeves.

"Yes, it does matter. If Bill would've told me then I wouldn't have—"

"Bill doesn't know."

I glance at her strangely, "What do you mean, he doesn't know?"

"I didn't even know him then. I didn't meet Bill until a year later, when—"

"You were living on your own," I finished for her.

"No, when I was living with my friends."

I nod my head, even though I don't see much of a difference in those two statements. She wasn't living with an adult, so she was living on her own to me.

"Okay, can we go inside now, I'm really cold," she says and I can tell she is because her goose bumps are clearly visible. But her tone was almost nonchalant, like she hadn't just been crying a few seconds ago.

I stare at her for a second, astounded at how she could collect herself in so little time. She acted as if she had not just revealed to me that her own mother tried to burry her alive. She looks at me, with her hand on the door handle, waiting for me to let her out and book her.

I do something that I never thought I'd do when I left the house in search for her.

I turn my car back on, crank the heat, and start backing out of the parking space.

"What are you doing?" she asks me, with that terrified look back on her face. And it just makes me sad that she still thinks that I would try to hurt her.

"I'm taking us back home. Seat belt please."

She looks at me as if she's about to protest and tell me to let her our of the car and take her in. But after a few seconds of deliberation and a long staring contest with me, she leans back into her seat and pulls the seatbelt over her body.

I wanted to smile at the sight of her actually listening to me, but I didn't want to freak her out as I did earlier. So I do my best to conceal it and continue to drive back to the house.

* * *

**Lena's P.O.V.**

I had been waiting a few hours for Stef to get back. Just as I was about to call her cell for the twelfth time, I heard the front door open.

"Hun, I'm home!" I hear her yell.

I get out from the kitchen and am surprised to see Christina walking up the stairs, up to Mariana's room. "What's going on? Why didn't you answer your phone?" I ask Stef.

"I'm sorry love. I was a bit preoccupied."

"Was she at the pier?"

"Yes," Stef motions me over to the kitchen area so that we can talk in private.

"And you brought her back?" I ask confusingly.

"Uh-huh," Stef nods her head.

"Why? She hasn't listened to a word we said since she got here."

"I know love."

"And you're okay with that?"

"No. Of course I'm not okay with that, but a lot of stuff has happened since I left the house."

"Okay…Like what?"

"Like Vico."

"Vico Calderon? The senior?"

"Tall, built, light-skin, green eyes."

I nod my head "Yes, that's the Vico I'm talking about. What does he have to do with any of this?"

Stef took in a deep breath and whispered, "He tried to rape her."

"What?" I responded in exaggeration and suddenly wished that I hadn't been so loud.

"I got there just in time before he could do anything, thank God."

"And what? You were at the station the whole time, filing a police report, and you couldn't bother to pick up the phone?" I ask annoyed by what my she was telling me.

"No, I had to chase after Christina because she ran again," she reasoned.

"And you sent her upstairs by herself?" I ask bewildered by what Stef was telling me and the fact that she just sent a runaway teen, who tried to get away from us twice already, upstairs my herself.

"Yes and it's fine, honey. I already talked to her."

I shake my head in confusion, suddenly wondering why I'm the worried one and she's the calm one all of a sudden.

She continues, "After I grabbed her and Mike arrived, I drove around with her in the car. I was thinking about what to do with her."

"And…" I'm still waiting for Stef to explain why she thinks that this is a good idea.

"And she completely flipped out on me…She saw that I wasn't going in the direction of the police station and…Lena, she thought I was going to hurt her," Stef's voice was soft and I could see her eyes starting to tear, but I'm still not understanding why.

"What?" I asked confused by what Stef was revealing to me. "Why would she—"

"Because she thought I was going to burry her. She broke down in front of me and I couldn't just lock her up after that."

I'm honestly confused now. "Huh? Why would she think something like that? You never—"

"I know love, but her mother tried to."

"Oh my God."

Stef nodded her head.

I get back on track, "Why didn't Bill tell us about this? I read her file from top to bottom. There wasn't anything in her file about this." I shake my head with annoyance at CPS for failing to protect this girl.

"Because, she didn't tell him. It happened before she met Bill."

"When she was 12?"

"Eleven," Stef corrected.

I was angry now, "What could she have done at eleven years old that would cause her mother to—"

"I don't know."

"So, what are we supposed to do about this? She can't just disappear whenever she wants. This running away thing isn't okay. Did you tell her that?"

"I know that love. We can talk to her tomorrow about all of that. She's had a bad enough night."

I calm down after hearing Stef's calm voice, "Did I mention that you keep me sane?"

She laughs, "At least once a week."

* * *

**Okay. So I bet nobody saw that coming :P **

**And you can bet that there's a bigger reason for Christina's mom trying to kill her, than her just being "mad." More on that will be revealed in later chapters. And I plan to bring her mom into the story eventually. Wonder how that will turn out?**

**Plus, I want to get back to changing the scenes from the show next chapter :)**

**And is anybody as excited about tonight's episode as I am? 4 ½ more hours for me to go. I'm actually excited to see what Talia and Vico are planning. And I really hope Brandon doesn't get arrested :( But they threw him in the back of the cop car in the commercial so I was like WHAT! And Stef was like "Arrest him." Anybody else wondering wth she's thinking? Omg I can't take it!**

**Please leave some feedback on what you think and thanks for reading :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Mariana's P.O.V.**

I'm surprised when I hear a knock on my bedroom door and see Christina walk in. I figured that my mom would get rid of her after she ran away, and now she's sitting on one of the beds that my moms got them.

I'm glad that she's here instead of juvie, but I'm also worried of what my mom is going to do now that she's back.

Since they left, Mama had asked me what I need the money for. She lectured me for almost an hour and I could tell that she didn't believe the reason that I gave her.

And I don't blame her.

I didn't have the so-called "dress" that I said I spent the money on. But I couldn't tell her the truth, no matter how much she pressed me on it.

I couldn't tell her that I handed all that money over to Ana, especially after I said I didn't want to meet her. She would think I went behind her back.

Mama was always more sensitive to those things than Mom was, and she would hate me if she found out.

They both would.

She said that she would have to discuss my punishment with Mom, but I already knew that I'd be grounded for forever.

I didn't even bother to bring up the Quincenera, because I knew that they'd shut it down immediately.

**Callie's P.O.V.**

Christina walks in and sits down on the bed next to mine. Her face is red and I can tell that she was crying.

"You okay?" Mariana asks and I want to toss my pillow at her.

From my experience, every time someone asked me if I was okay when I wasn't, it would only make me feel worse.

But surprisingly, she doesn't tear-up more at the question.

"Yeah. I'm fine," she replies in a flat tone.

Mariana keeps going, "Look, I'm sorry I didn't confess earlier. I should have, and we could have avoided this whole mess."

Christina puts her hand in the air to keep Mariana from continuing, "Whoa whoa whoa. Wait a minute. You set me up?" she asked angrily.

"No, I didn't set you up. How was I supposed to know that you would get blamed for it?" Mariana defended.

"Why would you sell your brother's pills in the first place?" Christina asked.

"You wouldn't understand."

"You're right. I wouldn't. So don't even bother answering the question. I don't even wanna know."

* * *

Just then, we hear a knock on Mariana's door and Stef walks in. "Mariana, Mama and I want to talk to you downstairs, please."

I know that she's in trouble, and she knows it to. I can tell by the sadness in her face as she follows Stef out of the room.

As soon as she leaves, I turn my attention to Christina, "I thought you weren't coming back."

"I wasn't," Christina replies as she changes into some pajamas she grabbed from her bag.

"You know, there's two empty drawers for you in the dresser. I only needed one."

"That's okay," she looks at me as she slides her green duffel bag under the bed.

"You know, I'm not going to steal your stuff," I smile at her because I'm surprised that she'd think I would.

She smiles back, "I know. But we don't know about Mariana on the other hand," she jokes and I shake my head. "…But honestly, I never unpack."

_Why not? _I wonder. "But they offered to foster us until we have a permanent placement."

"And you believed them? Rule number one: Never. Trust. Anyone."

I didn't even know how to respond, so I didn't.

"This is temporary. So I'll treat it that way. I never unpack in places where I know I'm not going to be for long. Hell, I never unpack, period. You never know when you might just have to grab your stuff and go," she replies as she lies back down onto the bed.

"Go where? And where did you go today anyway?"

"Don't even ask," she replied as she placed the comforter over her body and closed her eyes.

* * *

_The Next Morning_

**Christina's P.O.V.**

I woke up this morning to someone shaking me awake. "What the hell?" I ask the cloudy figure I see standing on the side of my bed. I hear a laugh and am finally able to open my eyes all the way. Stef is standing in front of me, still in her pajamas, with a cup of coffee in her hand.

"Hey, Sweets. Can you come downstairs please? Lena and I want to talk to you before everyone gets up."

I sigh heavily, which doesn't go unnoticed. "Sorry," I say as I get up and walk down the stairs.

She follows me and then points me in the direction of the kitchen

As soon as I enter, I see Lena sitting at the table with her fingers wrapped her mug. "Good morning," she says and gestures to the chair in front of her.

"There's nothing good about mornings," I mumble as take a seat.

"You're right about that," Stef agrees as she takes a seat next to Lena.

"So, what's up?" I ask, not wanting to waste any time with the 'How'd you sleep?' part of the conversation.

Lena glances at Stef for some indication to continue, "Well, um…first we wanted to apologize for accusing you of stealing Jesus's pills. It was wrong of us to jump to conclusions like that, and we're sorry."

"Okay…well, I already told Stef that it was fine. So…"

Lena looked at Stef unsure of what to say next, so Stef stepped in at her partner's hesitance, "Well, we feel like it wasn't, so we wanted to apologize again."

"Okay. That's it?" I ask as I'm getting back up from my seat.

"No," Stef continues and I sit back down. "We both feel that we needed to talk to you about the, um…"

"Running away," Lena finished for her. "It's not okay for you to do that."

_It's not okay for you to accuse me of shit I didn't do either, _I want to say but hold my tongue. "Well, I figured I was going to back to juvie anyway, so I didn't think it'd be that big of a deal. Honestly, I would rather go back for something I did than something I didn't do."

Stef piped in, "We wouldn't have done that, so you would've got sent back for something you did."

"What? You took me to the police station last night," I say matter-of-factly.

"You asked me to, Christina."

"Well, I didn't know that. I mean, I didn't expect you to accuse me in the first place, so how would I have known that you weren't going to send me back?"

Lena leaned forward a bit, "Well, we're telling you now, so that none of this happens again. Okay?"

Stef continued, "We want you to understand, that what you did yesterday was very dangerous. Getting into Vico's car was not a smart decision. Last night could have been a lot worse than it was. A LOT worse."

"I know. It won't happen again," I assure her, even though I know I'm lying.

"Okay. Good," Stef says as she takes another sip of her coffee.

"Is that it?" I ask.

Both women look like they're about to say something but change their minds. "Yes Sweets. You can go back upstairs. You still have a fifteen minutes to sleep," Stef says and I'm glad she finally ended the conversation.

I hoped that they wouldn't mention what I confessed about my mother last night, because I wasn't entirely sure what I'd tell them.

I knew that I could never tell them the whole story.

* * *

_At School (Still Christina's P.O.V.)_

I walk to an empty table at lunch and open my brown paper bag. I remove the sandwich and discover that it's tuna._ Yuck!_ I immediately crumble it up and toss it into the nearest trashcan. I impress myself when I actually make it in.

"What'd that sandwich ever do to you?" I hear guy's voice ask from behind me.

_Crap!_ I thought and I hoped not to see one of Stef and Lena's sons behind me.

I couldn't hide my relief when I saw that it was Jasper, "Oh, it's just you," I say nonchalantly.

He laughs, "Well, hello yourself."

I realize how rude my comment sounded, "Sorry."

"So, you have something against food?" he asks as he takes a seat across from me.

"No, I have something against fish. They're smelly and slimy and I don't understand why someone would want to eat them. Just the thought makes me want to vomit."

"And the thought of you vomiting is exactly what I needed before starting my lunch," he replies as he puts his Styrofoam-plate down with a chicken patty and powdered-mash potatoes.

"If you wanna call that a lunch," I reply, realizing how unappetizing his plate looks.

"Are you always this delightful?" he jokes.

"Pretty much," I answer.

"Good to know….So, I'm guessing you don't want a bite of my chicken patty then, huh?"

"I think I'd rather fish the fish out of the garbage can."

"I'd love to get a picture of that."

"I bet you would."

I watch him stand up toss his Styrofoam-plate toward the garbage. And I'm not shocked when he completely misses, not even touching the rim of the bin. I have to laugh at his sad attempt though, "So, I'm guessing you're a basketball player then, huh?"

He walks over to pick up his plate and throws it in the bin, "What gave me away?"

"I think it was your mad skills. I mean, I never saw someone throw something so big in the complete opposite direction of their target. That takes some serious expertise."

He smiles. "Well I do what I can for my fans," he says as he gestures and waves in random directions to no one.

"They really love you. I can tell," I joke.

"You know who else is going to love me?"

* * *

I stare at him confused by his question and suddenly feel someone's cold hands go over my eyes and something being pointed to my temple, "GIVE ME ALL YOUR MONEY!" I hear a girl's voice.

And then another, "NOW BITCH!"

I have to smile once I realize whose voices they were and I turn my body around. Shanelle was standing in back of me and Tasha had her hand shaped like a gun that was being pointed to my head.

"You bitches are evil!" I get up and hug them for what seems like forever. I finally let go and look over at Jasper, who's surprisingly smiling. "You did this?"

"Are you gonna beat my ass now?" he jokes.

"Why?" I can't hide my confusion.

"Because I do what I can do for my fans, remember?"

"Oh, I'm your fan now, huh?"

He takes a step closer, "Yup."

I can't help but like him now and I hate myself for it. "Well, thank you. This is actually one of the nicest things that anyone's ever done for me."

"Well, I'm glad you thought it was nice. I was getting a little worried there, when I thought they were sticking you up. So…I'll catch you later then," he says as walks toward the school.

Shanelle talks first, "Damn girl. Less than a week outta juvie and you're already bagging the baddest mofo in the school."

"The hottest mofo," Tasha corrected.

I shake my head at them and sit back down, "Nobody's bagging anyone. I just met him yesterday, and I had no idea that he'd do this."

They sit on the other side of the table. "Well then, he wants you bad," Tasha says.

"You're crazy," I smile.

"Nah, she's right. Nobody does something like this for nothing," Shanelle says.

And then it hits me, the thought that he might actually want something from me.

* * *

**Mariana's P.O.V.**

Christina and I are in my room minding our own business when Callie goes insane.

She grabs a blue notebook from the night table, "Which one of you read my journal?"

Christina and I exchange glances, and we are both confused.

Christina speaks first, "Are you serious?"

"I know one of you read my journal. So, who was it huh?" She continues to shoot glances at both of us and we just look at each other. I'm waiting for Christina to confess, but she keeps looking at me.

"Well, I didn't read anything," I say causing Callie to cross her hands over her body and look at Christina.

"Why would I care enough to read your journal? Like seriously, you don't seem like the most intriguing person in the world. No offense," Christina answers.

"One of you two must've read it, because I left it second from the bottom and now its second from the top."

Christina answers, "You keep track of the order you stack your notebooks in? You got some serious issues girl."

Callie looks back at me, "It must've been you Mariana. Because I doubt Christina did this."

"I NEVER TOUCHED IT!" I yell defensively. I didn't even know she had a journal in the room, and even if I did I wouldn't have read it. I think that it must've been Christina.

"NO ONE HAS EVEN BEEN IN HERE!" She yelled back.

"I NEVER TOUCHED IT!" I yell back.

Mama comes in and I hope that she is going to yell at Callie, but she yells at both of us instead, "Hey! Enough shouting! What is going on?"

"She read my journal," Callie gestures to me.

"No I didn't."

"Well somebody did," Callie says, as she walks over to the nightstand. She points to stack of books layered on top of it, "I left it right here, second from the bottom, and when I came back it was moved."

"Well it wasn't me," I defend.

"Mariana, tell me the truth," Mama orders, like she didn't believe me.

"I am. I never touched it." _Why won't she believe me? Why is she taking this random kid's side over mine? I'm her daughter!_

Lena turns around to see Christina sitting on the bed watching all of them, "Christina, did you read Callie's journal?"

"Are you for real?" she asked as she stared at Mama for a few seconds. "…I don't read."

Mama gives her a strange look and turns back toward Callie, "Okay. Callie, is it possible that it wasn't moved, that you just think it was?"

"Why? Because perfect Mariana can never do anything wrong. I think even I've been here long enough to know that's not true."

Christina laughed out loud and we all looked at her, "Sorry."

Callie glances at the door and sees Jude staring at her, "You know what, forget it. Don't even worry about it. You're probably right. It's probably my fault. I just forgot or something. Probably." And we all watch her walk out.

I turn back toward Mama, " I can't live with her."

"Well you have to. So figure it out," she replies and storms out.

"Of course she would take her side," I mumble.

"So, did you read it?" Christina asks.

"No, I thought you did."

"Nope…Are you sure?" she asks again, as if she doesn't believe me.

"No, I swear I didn't."

"Okay."

"So, you believe me?"

"It shouldn't matter what I believe. If you didn't do it, then you didn't do it."

"But do you think I did it?"

"I don't know you enough to answer that question," she replies as she leaves the room.

"I DIDN'T!" I yell again, hoping that someone would believe me.

* * *

**Okay, so I know this chapter was kinda boring, but I had to address some things. Plus, I had to add Jasper back into the story, for what I want to happen next, which will be more interesting I promise.**

**Next Chapter: What would've happened differently at Wyatt's foreclosure party if Christina were there? **


	9. Chapter 9

_So, for the purposes of the story, Mariana's quincenera didn't happen (Her moms canceled it after they found out she sold drugs at school, and she refused to admit the real reason why). Also, she has no clue yet about Lexi and Jesus. Talya still read Callie's journal (obviously) and she's still acting like a jealous psycho. Brandon and Callie are still falling for each other etc etc._

* * *

_The Next Day at School_

**Callie's P.O.V.**

I was grabbing my Algebra book from my locker, when I saw Talya storming up to me, "Stay away from, Brandon!" she threatened.

I try to defend myself, "I'm not—"

But she interrupts me, "Oh please. I see the way you look at him. Just stay away from him. Or I'll tell him about Liam."

Ever since she said his name before we watched the movie last night, I had a feeling that she was the one to read my journal. But now I know. "You make a habit of reading people's journals?"

"Just people I don't trust," she smirks at me.

Christina walked up to us, "Hey Callie. And hey…"

"Talya!" Talya replied angrily.

"Yeah, whatever. I don't really care enough to bother remembering your name," Christina waved her hand in Talya's face shooing her away. Talya gave her a dirty look that Christina ignored and closed my locker. She ushered me away from her. "The hell is wrong with her? She looked like she was about to beat your ass," Christina laughed.

"She read my journal," I admit.

Christina turned me back around, "Then go beat her ass."

I pulled her back, so that she wouldn't make things worse, "I can't."

"Why not?"

I didn't reply.

"Do you want me to do it?" she asked me.

"No!" I yell, to stop her from thinking about it. I suddenly realized that she really would. I lower my voice, "Please don't do that. That would only make things worse."

We continue walking down the hallway until she finally speaks, "But why would she do that? That's really messed up. If I find her touching any of my things, I'll—"

"You won't," I assure her. "She doesn't like me, only me."

"Is it because of Brandon?" My eyes widen at her question. She laughs, "Chillax girl. It's obvious that he has a thing for you. Can you blame her?"

"She has nothing to be worried about."

"That's obviously not what she thinks," she shrugs.

"Well, she's wrong."

"Uh-huh." She looks over my shoulder. "Well, boyfriend number two looks like he wants to talk to you."

"What?" I say and turn around to see Wyatt smiling and waiting for me with his hands in his pockets. "He's not my boyfriend. And neither is Brandon."

"Well, I guess I'm not Christina, and you're not Callie, and I'm not about to leave you standing here by yourself," she says and starts to back away slowly.

I have to laugh. "They're not."

"Deuces," she replies and leaves me standing in the middle of the hallway by myself.

* * *

**Christina's P.O.V.**

That girl is in serious denial if she thinks there's nothing going on between her and Brandon. Or her and Wyatt. I don't know why she doesn't just go for it. I mean, this whole living situation is only temporary and she knows it.

As I'm walking to the bathroom, I see Brandon watching Callie and Wyatt talking from afar. The expression on his face makes me want to give him a hug or something.

But I don't hug.

I was about to approach him, when I see Talya's trifling ass run up to him and plant a kiss on his lips as she gives me a dirty look. _Bitch! I don't want him!_ I wanna yell, but I see Lena walking standing down the hallway, and I refrain from causing a scene.

As I'm about to open the door to the girl's bathroom, I hear Mariana's voice, "I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU TWO WERE SNEAKING AROUND MY BACK!"

I contemplate walking in all the way, for a second, but I really have to go. When I open the door, I see Lexi and Jesus standing up against the wall looking at me. They both looked like they had just gotten done making out. Mariana has her back turned and didn't even bother to see who was at the door. She continues her rant and looks at Lexi, "YOUR SUPPOSED TO BE MY BEST FRIEND. HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME!"

Silence.

"AND YOU! YOU CALL YOURSELF MY BROTHER. I SPECIFICALLY ASKED YOU NOT TO DO THIS, AND WHAT DO YOU DO? YOU DO THE EXACT OPPOSITE. You know what? You two deserve each other. I hope you both are happy without me."

Lexi tries to stop her from leaving, "Mariana wait."

"Just leave me alone," she replied and stormed out.

* * *

I wonder if it'd be too awkward to pee while they're standing there, but I felt bad for Mariana at the same time. I sighed heavily and ran after her. When I finally caught up the girl, she was opening her locker, "Hey, you okay?" I ask. Stupid question, I know. But I was never very good at consoling people.

**Mariana's P.O.V.**

"No. I can't believe that they would do this to me. It's like they did it just to piss me off… And it's working," I admit.

"Well, if you believe that, then don't let it."

_What is she talking about? _I wonder,and give her a confused look.

She reads my mind a rephrases, "If you really think they are doing this to piss you off, then don't let it. Don't give them the satisfaction of letting them know that it got to you. Act like you don't care."

"But I do care. I don't want my brother dating my best friend. It's gross."

The thought makes me want to puke, but I think Lexi and Jesus are still in the bathroom, so it goes away.

Christina continues, "I know you care. But if you think they're doing this to get to you then—"

"If I act like I don't care, they'll stop," I finish for her. "Gotcha," I smile. I'm glad that I actually have someone on my side this time.

Lexi runs up to me and Christina , "Mariana, I'm sorry."

I really want to scream my head off at her, but I take Christina's advice, "I'm sorry too. I didn't mean to freak out before. I was just surprised is all."

"Really? So you're not mad?"

"No, why would I be mad? I think its great actually," I say and shrug my shoulders, hoping she can't see right through me.

"Are you sure?" she asks. "I don't want this to make you feel uncomfortable. I know it's kinda weird and all—"

"It's not weird. I told you. It's great. But I'm going to be late for class. So, catcha later."

"I'll walk with you," Lexi offers.

"No. That's okay. I'm already walking with Christina," I say, knowing that it'll make her feel bad. And that's exactly what I want.

"Oh okay... Later then," she finishes and I nod as she walks away awkwardly.

Christina waits until Lexi is no longer in sight, "That was awkkkwarrddd."

"I know. God I hate her. Why couldn't she just date one of her other best friend's brothers."

"Does she have any more?"

"Good point."

* * *

_3 days later_

**Callie's P.O.V.**

Mariana was looking at pictures on my cell, "You know, I never really noticed but, Wyatt's super cute."

I had to laugh a little, "Ya think?"

"He's sexy, like messy sexy."

_Oh God!_ "Okay," I grabbed the phone from her to keep her from drooling all over it.

"So, what's up with you two anyway?"

Christina walked in the middle of our conversation. "They're in denial," she muttered under her breath and sat on her bed.

"Shut up!" I yell jokingly and throw my pillow at her.

Mariana continued, "But seriously. Don't most girls with boyfriends consider Saturday date-night?"

"Not my boyfriend."

Christina nodded her head yes to Mariana. I give her weird look and glance back at Mariana.

"He's not," I try to convince her again.

"Don't waste your time convincing us. You have to convince yourself first," Christina explains.

"What about you and Jasper?" I ask, trying to change the subject.

"There's no 'me an Jasper'?"

"I see you two everywhere together," I continue.

"I have to agree with Callie on that one," Mariana says. And I'm surprised she actually agrees with me on something.

"We're friends at most."

"Don't try to convince us. You have to convince yourself fir—"

Christina threw the pillow back at me. "Do not even use my own words against me. And we were talking about Wyatt. Why'd you change the subject?"

Mariana continued, "Yeah, shouldn't you two be going out tonight or something? He is your—"

"He's not my boyfriend any more than Jasper is Christina's. And even if he was, he's having a party tonight so—"

Mariana waved her hand in the air to keep me from continuing, "Okay, excuse me? He's having a party tonight and we're sitting here… We have to go!"

"Party? What kind of party?" Christina was interested.

"Okay, it's not like you're missing prom or anything," I assured Mariana. "It's just a stupid foreclosure party."

"What the hell is that?" Christina's interest level went down from 10 to 5.

"I don't want to be home, when Lexi and her parents get here. Please…And admit it. You don't want to be stuck in here on a Saturday night either…And you totally like Wyatt."

"Okay fine," I agree. But I'm silently wondering what I'm getting myself into.

Mariana clapped her hand "Yay."

"Yay," Christina repeated flatly. It was obvious she wasn't as interested as Mariana. "One problem?"

"What?" Mariana asks.

"What do we tell your Moms? Are they really going to let us go to a party that easily?" Christina asks reluctantly.

Mariana smiles, "You let me worry about that. You should just worry about getting Jasper there."

"I thought you hated him? Something about almost killing a guy and not trusting him?" Christina asks her.

"Yeah, well maybe I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions."

"What changed?" I ask her. Suddenly, I'm curious.

Marina shrugs her shoulders and keeps talking, "He sort of approached me and asked me if you had a boyfriend."

"He did what?" Christina asks in a surprised voice.

"He asked me if—"

"Yeah, I heard you. That's so… weird."

"Why is it weird? I think it's cute," Mariana smiled.

"Yeah, in a weird way."

"That's mean," I reply.

"He probably won't even come," Christina explained.

"Doubt that."

* * *

**Christina's P.O.V.**

As soon as we arrived, I could see that the party appeared more interesting than I thought it would, "This is a foreclosure party?" I ask in disbelief. I was imagining a bunch of old people walking around in expensive suits exchanging business cards.

"Maybe we should go," Callie said with some doubt in her voice.

"Oh, hellz no!" Mariana exclaimed as she started storming into the house with excitement.

Callie grabbed her arm and pulled her back, "Mariana! Look… if you're going to drink, just have one, and like sip it all night."

"God, don't worry. You act like I've never been to a party before."

"Hey girl!" Kelsey yelled out for her.

"Hey!" Mariana shouted back and walked over to her, leaving Callie and I standing at the doorway.

"Ew, that bitch is here," I say loud enough so that she could hear.

"Be nice!" Callie warns.

"I thought I was," I smile back at her innocently.

She shakes her head and grabs her cell from her pocket. We had to share one, but I let her hold on to it most of time, since she'd start snapping pictures of pretty much anything.

She handed it over to me.

I read the screen: 1 new message from Jasper. I read it out loud, "**Can't make it. Something came up. Explain later. Sorry."**

"Sorry," Callie said.

"About what?" I pretended like I didn't care. But honestly, I didn't get him. First minute, he was asking if I was single and doing crazy things for me. The next, he was blowing me off. He's lucky that he's not standing in front of me right now, because I'd bitch-slap the shit out of him. "Seriously, it's totally cool." I glance around, "From the looks of theirs a bunch of other boys in here. His loss right?" I smile at her, letting her know that I'd be fine. "I've never been the type of girl to sulk over some dumb boy, and I'm not about to start now."

"Good to know," she says as Wyatt starts approaching her.

"Talk to you two later. About to scope out the food," I smile and walk toward the kitchen.

* * *

To my dismay, there's hardly any food here. There's pretty much just chips and beer. _Awesome, I think to myself. I'm freaking starving and there's no food. _

_Screw it! Jasper blew me off so I'm going to have a good time without him_. I grab a red cup and walk over to the keg and start filling it.

"Ya know, you're doing that wrong?" a guy's voice asks from behind me.

Just as I was about to turn around and tell him off, I got a good look at him and shut my mouth. I was awed by his muscular body and gorgeous eyes. He was tall with light-ish hair and he looked like he could be on a Calvin Klein billboard.

Before I could say anything he grabbed my cup and started filling it for me. "You have to hold it at an angle and push the lever slowly. This way, you don't get a cup that's half-filled with foam," he smiled at me as he handed the cup back to me.

"I'll have to take that under consideration for next time," I reply as I take a long sip of my beer.

"So, who are you here with?" he asks.

"Some friends," I lie. I don't want to get into that who foster-sibling ordeal. "Whatta bout you?"

"Same… I'm Liam by the way."

"Damn," I say.

"What?" he asks innocently.

"It's just…now that I know your name, it's going to hurt so much more when I never talk to you again."

He makes a straight face and I burst out laughing, "I'm just kidding."

"Oh," he laughs too. "You have a sick sense of humor."

"I get that a lot."

"So are you going to tell me yours?"

"But where's the fun in that?"

"Ouch!"

"It's Christina," I finally say.

"Well, I would normally say nice to meet you, but I'm not so sure this is going to be a nice encounter," he replies.

I finish my beer and grab his, "Me either." I smile and start walking over to the backyard as he follows…

* * *

**Oh Snap! Before you guys tear my head off because of the whole Christina/Liam thing, I promise you there's a point to all of this.**

**I have something planned out in my head :)**


	10. Chapter 10

**Sorry, I haven't updated in awhile. Just started a new fosters fanfic, so now officially writing 4 at once.**

**I won't abandon my stories, so no worries about that.**

**Just incase you forgot: We left off at Wyatt's foreclosure party. Talya had threatened Callie with the information she heard about Liam. Mariana had just recently found out about Jesus and Lexi, when she walked in on them making out in the school's bathroom. Christina got stood up by Jasper at the last minute, and had just started talking to Liam.**

* * *

**Mariana's P.O.V.**

"Here! Drink this," Kelsey said while handing me a red plastic cup filled with beer. Now, normally I wouldn't hesitate to say no. Moms would totally kill me if I even touched it. They've given me lecture after lecture about the dangers of drinking and what not. Not to mention, the whole lecture about staying away from Kelsey because she's a bad influence on me or whatever.

But in all fairness, my moms didn't just find out that their twin brother had been hooking up with their best friend behind their backs. If this doesn't call for a drink, then I don't know what does.

I smile and accept the drink from Kelsey, "So, how was rehab?" _Damn, why did I have to go and mention that? That's nothing close to a casual conversation._ I awkwardly take a sip from my cup. _Callie said to sip one drink all night. At the rate I'm going, there isn't going to be a keg left by then._

"BBOORRIINNGG. Just a bunch of cracked out kids screaming for attention. Not my thing. "

"Yeah, totally," I reply. But in all honesty, I thought she'd actually get something out of it.

"So…Didn't think I'd run into you here, especially with the Juvie girls. But, yay."

"Their names are Callie and Christina. And they're fine."

"Okay? What did I miss?"

"A lot," was all I could get out. I didn't want to get into every detailed thing that happened lately. Especially, with all the rumors that she had spread about Callie and Christina.

I watched as Kelsey took a really long sip of her drink. "Looks like rehab really did the trick," I joke. "Aren't you supposed to be, ya know? Sober?"

"Hellooo, I went to rehab for pills not beer. And obviously my parent overreacted."

"Obviously," I smile back. I found it intriguing how she didn't think what she was doing to herself wasn't a big deal. But she was one of my friends, and I didn't want to make her feel bad. No matter how often she'd done it to everyone else.

"Cheers!" she says and we clink cups. She finally notices that it's strange that I'm drinking, "I can't believe you're actually having fun for once. Since when do you drink?" She gives me an unbelieving look.

"Oh, I drink. Ok," We both know that I'm lying. The only time I can remember drinking is when Jesus handed me Mom's martini glass one day and told me it was water. We were both like 8 years old and didn't know any better. All I can remember was throwing the glass on the floor, spitting out the alcohol, and Jesus laughing hysterically, because he knew what he had done.

* * *

"What's up?" Kelsey asks, intrigued by my silent daze.

"What do you mean?"

"Something's definitely up. I can feel it," she says with a smile.

I finally give in. I needed someone to vent to. Christina had been nice to me about the whole situation, but I just think she'd be weirded-out if I sat there and complained about it all. "Well Lexi is seeing Jesus."

Kelsey looked at me like I just admitted that I was Hispanic. "Well, duh. That's been around for a while now. He's your own brother and you didn't notice?"

How could she manage to make me feel like total crap, practically every time that we were together? He's MY BROTHER; I should have known. I'm surprised that she already knew, and God knows how many others.

I continue my rant anyways, "She's my best friend. And he's my brother. I can't believe that they would do this to me. Jesus…he had ADHD. He doesn't know any better. But Lexi...I hate her. She's been lying to my face for how long…And now my moms and her parents are sitting at home having dinner, like this is the best thing that's ever happen to them. It's like they're taking their side…God, I hate them all."

"Oh yeah. I totally get why you're pissed at Lexi. And it's crazy that your parents are hanging out. It's kind of gross if you ask me, but…Oh my god. Do you think your moms are telling the Rivera's that they bought Lexi the pill?"

"What?" I ask. I'm not even sure I heard her right. I'm hoping that I hadn't heard what I just thought I did.

"Lexi wanted my help getting the morning after pill…Helloooo, if you need a pill call Kelsey. After she and Jesus had sex. I couldn't help, so I guess they went to your moms."

Silence.

Now, I know they are definitely on their side. All of this and no one managed to tell me anything. I was completely clueless. It felt like everyone had been laughing at me for God knows how long.

Kelsey continued, "Oh, you didn't know? ….Opps."

I quickly take a large gulp from my plastic cup, wondering why the help everyone around me knew about this relationship of the two people I trusted most, before I did.

* * *

**Christina's P.O.V.**

God this guy was hot. Just as hot as Jasper. It was like he was sent to me for a reason. I couldn't explain it.

One second, I'm feeling like total crap for being stood up by some random guy. And the next, this beautiful creature is standing in back of me, talking to me, and then following me outside.

_Um…Jasper who?_

"So, Christina," Liam starts.

"Yes?" I ask as I take another sip of my drink. I'm not trying to get drunk, but I can't help but feel nervous around him, and I'm not exactly sure why. I've never had a problem being around boys before… Besides Vico.

"What school do you go to?"

"Anchor Beach. For now anyways."

"So, you're moving?"

"Not exactly," I tilt my head to the side. There's no way I can explain my situation to some random kid I just met. Talking about it always made me feel uncomfortable and I wasn't entirely sure why.

"Then, what?" he smiled as we both took seats on a nearby bench outside of Wyatt's house.

"It's complicated," I say, wanting desperately to change the subject.

"What do you mean? Planning on getting expelled anytime soon?" he laughs.

"No."

"Arrested?"

I have to laugh this time, "You have no idea how possible that is, my friend…So, what about you?"

"Oh, don't try to change the subject. You have my full attention now," he says as he takes a full swig of his beer. He ended up grabbing another on his way out of the house.

"What do you mean? You like girls with bad-reps?" I ask.

"No. I like knowing what I'm getting myself into," he smiles at me again.

I can't help but be fascinated by his smile. His teeth are perfectly straight, his dimples are showing, and his eyes are gleaming. But in all honesty, I'm confused by his question. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, I'd like to see you again."

"You'd like to see me again?" I question. "You mean, I haven't scared you off with the whole 'I might get arrested by tomorrow" thing I have going on," I ask confused.

"Oh, it takes a lot to scare me off. Trust me."

I nod, "Trust you?"

"Yes."

"Why?" I ask. I don't trust anyone in the world. What would make him think that he was so special?"

"Because I'm asking you to," he answers as he flashes me that million-dollar smile.

"That's a good enough reason…" I say sarcastically.

"Look. I really like you. You're different than most of the girls, that I've met here, and I just want to get to know you a little bit more."

"Really?"

"Yes, really," he tries to assure me.

I start to stand up, "You know what. My cup is almost empty. I'm just going to get another refill, since I can't take yours again." I smile. "You've actually managed to finish that one." I finish, thinking back to the other drink that I'd stolen from him less than fifteen minutes ago.

"I'll get it," he says standing up and grabbing the cup from my hand. "Just sit down and try to relax. I'll be right back."

"Trust you?" I say again and he laughs.

"Yes, trust me."

I nod and sit back down, "We'll see about that," I finish and he shakes his head.

* * *

**Callie's P.O.V.**

Great! This is just great! Mariana's drunk and locked herself in the bathroom and Wyatt just had a complete meltdown.

We have to get home soon, and I have no clue where Christina went. This party is going just as I thought it would. DISASTROUS!

While I'm waiting for Mariana to finally come out of the bathroom, I start to walk downstairs and take out my cell-phone. Lately, I've been taking pictures of so many scenes, but this one seemed perfect. I start to snap a few shots, and suddenly notice Liam in my iPhone's screen, "Hey, Callie."

This can't be real. This monster can't really be standing in front of me. He can't really be talking to me right now. I keep staring at the screen because I'm afraid to check if he's really there. "Liam?" I say, while lowering my cell-phone, and trying to figure out why he would be here of all places.

I don't stay upstairs.

That's how he got me last time.

I start to jog down, before he could corner me, like he had done before. I make sure not to look at his piercing eyes.

He blocks me from going all the way down, and I couldn't move, "Saw your shots on instagram. Pretty good with that thing."

Is that how he found me? I wonder. But I don't think about it too much. The most important thing right now is getting away from him. In order to do that, I'd have to pretend he wasn't there.

"What do you want?" I finally voice out. But I wasn't so sure I wanted to know.

"I heard you were asking questions about me, so…figured I'd save you some time, and catch up face-to-face," he looks me up and down and smiles. "You look great. Can't believe how much you've grown in two years."

"Look, when Sara said she was staying with you're family, I was just curious. That's all."

"So you miss me?" he asks while grabbing my hand.

I instantly pull it away. "I gotta go," I say and start to walk back down the stairs again.

But he pulls my wrist to keep me from running, "HEY! I'm talking to you."

"Let go of me," I say.

"I'm going to say this once. Stop asking questions, and stay the hell away from Sara. Got me?" he says as he finally releases his grip on my wrist.

"Hey!" Wyatt says as he steps in between of both of us. "Is everything okay here?"

"Yeah. Everything's great. Just catching up with an old friend," Liam says as he places his hand on Wyatt's shoulder, to show that he means no harm. He starts to walk back upstairs, "See you around, Cal."

* * *

"We gotta go," I tell Wyatt and Mariana, who had finally managed to make it out of the bathroom and down the stairs.

"Where's Christina? You're rushing me but what about her?" she asks with an annoyed voice. "How about you come and get me when you find her, ok?" she says ask she starts walking up the stairs to where Liam is.

"No," I say gently, even though I felt myself wanting to scream it. "You can help me find her." There was no way I would let Mariana go anywhere near him.

She nods her head with acceptance and helps me look for her.

We finally find her outside, sitting on a bench.

"Come on. Let's go home," I tell her.

She finally looks me over and then at Mariana. "Damn, girl. How much did you have to drink?" she smiles and I can tell that she's drunk by the redness in her eyes.

"I'm not drunkkk," Mariana says and neither of us believes her. I'm just hoping that I can get her to her bedroom without anyone noticing.

"You are so drunk," Christina says laughing uncontrollably.

"Great. That's just great. You're drunk too," I say to her.

She gives me a protesting look, "What are you talking about? I'm totally sober." She stands up and starts walking toward us, "So sober that I can walk in a straight line on one leg, so sober that I can pat my head and rub my belly at the same time, so sober that—"

"Okay. That's enough," I say as I grab her before she tries to stand on one leg on the bench she was now standing on. "Wyatt's going to walk us home, so we should go."

Christina gives me an angry look, "So why do we have to leave? That's your boyfriend. Let him walk you home. Me and Mariana stay."

"And what am I supposed to say when I get to their house? That the movie ended, but you and their daughter decided to stay behind for no good reason?" I question.

"Oooooh, good point," Mariana buds in.

Christina breathes in deeply, "Okay. Just let me say goodbye to someone first."

Just as I'm about to protest, she prances off quickly leaving me to deal with a very drunk Mariana by myself.

"Are you sure we have to leave? I was having kinda fun," she smiles at me.

"You're kind of fun is going to get me in a bunch of trouble if we're not careful."

"Oh, RELAX mom! Lighten up, will you? By the time we get home, I'll be totally fine…Not that I'm not already, but you know what I mean."

* * *

**Stef's P.O.V.**

The dinner with the Rivera's had taken a toll for the worst. All I wanted was to gain a little insight as to what the Jesus Camp was about, so that Lena and I could respectfully shut it down.

But nothing was going as planned.

The Rivera's were being extremely nice and respectful.

The camp sounded like everything I hadn't expected it to.

My dad showed up unexpectedly and made me feel like crap for my life choices.

That was a delight. As usual.

And all I wanted was to call it a day, and not receive any more bad news.

Just as I thought the dinner was finally coming to an end, I hear someone stubble on the stairs and hear Christina and Mariana laughing.

"Girls, is that you?" Lena asks.

"Yeah," we hear one of them responds.

"Come on in and say hello to the Rivera's."

"Coming," Callie says.

* * *

More laughing. Once they finally show up I can tell that something is up. All three of them are standing closer together than usual. Mariana is smiling too much and Christina is staring at everywhere besides our faces.

"Hi Mari, so nice to see you," Sonia says.

"Callie, Christina, this is Sonia and Ernie," Lena introduces.

"Hello," Callie responds. Christina just waves at them quickly and puts her hand down.

"Nice to meet you," Ernie says while smiling.

"You too," Callie responds. Christina nods her head.

"Uh, we were just going to bed," Callie says and now I know something's up. But I don't want to ask them about it while there's company. Just as I'm about to ask them, how the movie was, Sonia beats me to it.

"No, no, Mari. It's been too long. Come join us."

Christina looks at Mariana and chuckles but then tries to hide it with a cough. Callie glances at Christina and gives her a stern look. Christina straightens up and they all step forward.

"Wow, Mariana. Your nose."

"You like it?" Mariana asks and she stumbles on nothing.

That's when I know that my daughter is drunk. I quickly put my cup of coffee on the table and start to stand up. I want to yell at her right here and now, but that wouldn't be the most polite thing to do in front of company. The fastest solution I could think of is to get rid of the company, "Yeah. I think it's time we call it a night. What do you say?"

"Yeah, mommy. I'm tired," Lexi tries to help because she also notices that Mariana is drunk.

To bad her parents don't. "Mari! Jesus is going to join us at the church retreat next weekend. Why don't you come too?" Sonia asks her.

Mariana looks at me and then at Lena, "What? You're going to let them spend the night together, when you know they're having sex?"

Christina's mouth opens-wide and everyone turns their gaze on a very embarrassed Lexi and Jesus.

**TBC.**

* * *

**Btw, that will not be the last time you see Liam, obviously. He'll definitely turn up within the next few chapters.**

**As always, thanks for reading :)**

**And I'm about to type up my next chapter for **_**The Aftermath**_**, if any of you are reading that. Will be posted by sometime tonight.**

_**Someone Else**_** will be updated tomorrow. **


	11. Chapter 11

_**Quick summary of last chapter: Callie, Mariana, and Christina all went to Wyatt's foreclosure party. Both Christina and Mariana got drunk. Liam and Christina hit it off, but he still ended up threatening Callie (like in the show**_)_**. Callie had no idea that Christina was talking to Liam, and they went home without any mention of it.**_

* * *

_Two weeks later_

**Callie's P.O.V.**

I woke up this morning, feeling strangely relaxed, considering everything that has been going on.

Liam showed up at my school to threaten me a second time.

I finally told Stef and Lena about him a few nights ago in order to keep Sarah from going through what I had to.

I knew that Liam would be enraged when he found out I said something, but part of me didn't care.

Of course, I was still worried, but just knowing that I had people on my side that believed me was enough to make me feel better. Stef said that they would do everything they could to make sure that Sarah got taken out of Olmstead's house and strangely I believed her.

The moment that I started to get out of bed, Mariana bursts into the room and begins shaking Christina awake. Christina opens one eye and glances up at her with an angry expression, which causes Mariana to let go of her and back away with a little bit of fear, "Sorry. I forgot that you're cranky in the morning." She plants a smile on her face anyway, "But guess what today is?"

Christina pulls her comforter over her head and doesn't respond for a few seconds, which causes Mariana to walk back toward the door. "What?" Christina finally asks, and Mariana turns around with a smile again.

"It's Freedom Day."

Christina removes the comforter from her face and looks at Mariana and I with a straight face. "Excuse me?"

Mariana rolls her eyes, "It's been two weeks. You and I are no longer grounded. Which means—"

"We're free?" Christina says, still with a straight face.

But Mariana doesn't catch it and nods her head, "Uhuh. Aren't you excited? We're no longer condemned to school and this house. We can do whatever we want…well, obviously not whatever we want, but you know what I mean."

"I don't think I should've been grounded in the first place, being that this isn't my house, but I guess."

"So, are you going to go out with that new guy you're talking to? I saw the text he sent to my phone with the picture. Can you say "hottie?""

"Who? What happened to Jasper?" I ask. "I just saw you talking with him yesterday during lunch."

"Jasper's just a friend. And I'm not even sure he's that much, to be honest. And besides, I met this other guy, who's actually pretty cool."

"What guy?" I ask.

Mariana chimes in, "Wait. Is this the same guy you met at Wyatt's party that you were telling me about?"

Christina smiles, "Maybe."

I can't help but feel nervous. _The hot guy at Wyatt's party?_ I swallow hard before I ask, "What's his name?"

**Christina's P.O.V**

"I doubt you know him. He's kind of older," I answer.

"How much older?" Mariana asks denoting a little bit of concern in her voice. "Moms would totally flip if he was old-old."

"Why? They're not my moms," I answer and realize how wrong my comment sounded. I'm always sticking my foot in my mouth. I've got to learn to shut up, when I have nothing nice to say. "Sorry," I tell her. Even though I still don't think they have any reason to get mad. "But he's not old-old, as you say. Maybe 18 or 19. I didn't really have time to ask him." I turn to face Callie, "Because someone made us leave the party early, when it was just getting good," I say accusingly but jokingly as well.

Mariana laughs, "That's still kinda old. What's his name?"

"Liam," I respond and I notice Callie's mouth open wide and by the pale look on her face, I can tell that the name bothered her. "What? Do you know him?"

She doesn't answer as she glances down at the floor.

"Is that a yes or no?" Mariana asks and gently slaps Callie's arm, in order to get her to respond.

Callie finally says something, "Um… yeah, I know him….And he's not 18."

"He's not? Wait, how do you know him?" I ask.

"How old is he?" Mariana questions.

"He's 21 and…he used to be my foster-brother."

"Whoa, seriously?" Mariana looks from Callie to me.

"Really? I didn't know that. How strange? What's he like?" I ask with sudden interest. During my chat with him, we mostly only talked about me. And now I realize how rude I must've been, to not ask him about his own life. But in my defense, our chat didn't last very long.

She takes a while to respond, "…I don't think you should go out with him."

"Why not? Do you have something against him or something?"

"He's just not a nice guy…I mean, he seems nice at first, but he changes."

She stops talking.

_What? Does she expect me to just listen to her without a good explanation?_

_What the hell is she talking about anyway?_ I wonder.

"He changes? How does he change?" I ask her.

"Um…its complicated."

I look over and Mariana and we both have the same confused look on our faces.

"Wanna elaborate a little more?" Mariana asks her.

* * *

**Mariana's P.O.V.**

We all turn our heads to the door when we hear a soft knock. Mom comes in, "Hey, Callie. Momma and I have something we'd like to discuss with you. Can you come downstairs please?"

"Yeah, sure." Callie practically leaps out of her seat on the bed and follows my mom.

As soon as Callie is out of earshot, Christina turns to look at me, "Liam seems like a decent guy. Do you think she's exaggerating a bit?"

"I don't know. Maybe? But then again we didn't live with them," I remind her.

"Yeah, you're right I guess. How long ago do you think that was? People change ya know?"

"Not that much," I mutter as I suddenly think of Ana.

"What do you think that's about?" Christina asks as she points to the door that Callie and my mom walked out of.

"I have no idea. Wanna go find out?" I ask her.

We slowly walk down the stairs, in an effort to make as little commotion as possible. As soon as we get all the way down, we hear a man's voice, "So, here's the truth. There's no way this case is ever getting in front of a jury. The judge is going to throw it out, as sure as I'm sitting here. There's no direct evidence. It's been, what, almost two years since it happened? And it's just you…And with your record, everything in your file. I mean, I told you when we first arrested him, that this was a long shot. It's not fair. I'm sorry…On the other hand, if the sex with Liam had been consensual that would be a different story."

"But it wasn't. It was not," Mom interrupted.

"If it was consensual, well, based on your age difference, that would be statutory rape. And Liam might just go to jail for up to a year."

"So, you're saying that nobody will believe that he forced me to have sex, but they might believe that I did it cause I wanted to? And that Liam would go to jail for that?"

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying."

* * *

Christina and I both stare at each other in shock. She starts to walk away from the kitchen and waves me over. We quickly and quietly make our way up the stairs.

"What do we do?" she asks.

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"We have to do something. I feel like crap now. I just called her rapist a decent guy. What the hell is wrong with me?" she hits herself on the head with her hand.

"You didn't know. And she didn't tell us either."

"It doesn't matter. We have to do something. Liam's going to get away with what he did to her," she says angrily.

"Maybe not."

"Are you kidding me? Did you not just hear what that dude said. The case is going to get thrown out."

We both stay silent for a while, but I honestly don't see what we could possibly do to fix this.

"…Unless," Christina starts.

"Unless what?" I ask and I'm suddenly afraid of whatever it is she's thinking of.

"That guy said that they needed direct evidence, right?"

I squint my eyes at her, "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that we get direct evidence."

"It's a little bit late for that."

She grabs my arm and pulls me toward my bedroom and closes the door, "Duh. I'm talking about new evidence."

"What are you getting at?" I ask her.

She gives me a straight face, "Okay, so I'm thinking…"

"Uhuh," I wait for her to fill me in, and I already hate the idea.

"We set him up."

"Come again?"

"Oh come on, all we need to do is record him. It'll be really easy. I can seduce him or something and then, I'll tell him that I changed my mind. That should get him pissed off enough to do something stupid. And we can tape the whole thing," she says really fast.

I take a few seconds to process what she's telling me, "I don't know. It sounds dangerous. And we just got un-grounded. Need I remind you? "

"It won't be. You'll be there. And maybe Jasper can come, and I know a few other people."

"And Callie?"

"No, definitely not Callie. She'll try to stop us or something. Come on…"

I contemplate her plan for a few seconds longer than she expected.

"I'm doing it with or without you," she says as she crosses her arms over her body.

"Fine," I agree. "But we have to be smart about all of this. If something goes wrong—"

"It won't," she tries to assure me.

But deep down, I can't help but get a bad feeling about all of this.

TBC…


	12. Chapter 12

**This chapter is rated M. Just a warning.**

* * *

**Mariana's P.O.V.**

I know that Christina means well, but I just can't help but feel like shit is about to hit the fan. I'm really nervous about all of this, and I know that Christina means well. But some part of me wants me to run downstairs, tell my moms the crazy-ass plan that Christina is cooking up, so that they can put a stop to all of it.

And a whole other part of me thinks that Callie deserves some justice too.

Callie comes upstairs, sits down on her bed, and grabs her algebra textbook to do some homework. Christina fake-coughs, and I know that's my signal to speak.

"I want to get out of this house. We should go shopping or something. Callie, do you want to go?"

"Um…not today. I'm just not really in the mood. Thanks for the invitation though."

I nod my head. _Our plan is working_. "What about you Christina?"

"Yeah, sure. Why not, right?"

Callie lifts her head up from her homework and looks at Christina, "I thought you were going out with Liam?"

"Yeah, I changed my mind. Mariana reminded me that her mom's a cop again. Don't want to get the poor guy arrested for dating a minor," she says.

I lift my head up. "Wait, can he get arrested?" I ask curiously.

Christina scratches her head, "I don't know. Maybe?"

"I thought he could only get arrested if he has sex with a minor?"

Callie looks down, and Christina gives me a 'What are you doing?' look.

I take it back, "You know what? It doesn't even matter. Moms would definitely not be happy about it…And I want to get out of this house so can we?"

We both say bye to Callie and walk down the stairs.

Christina glares at me.

"Sorry, it just slipped out."

She shakes her head, "Whatever. Now, what are we going to tell your moms?"

"Just follow my lead," I say.

"Yeah, because that's going so well," she mutters.

* * *

**Lena's P.O.V.**

Stef and I were laying on the hammock and drinking tea in the backyard, when we saw Mariana and Christina walking over. We both glance at each other with skepticism unsure of where this is going to go.

"Hey," Mariana says with an innocent looking smile that Stef and I can already see right passed, but we don't let her know it yet.

"Hey girls. What's up?" I ask as I take a sip of tea.

"Well, Christina and I were wondering if—"

"No," Stef interrupts.

I have to laugh at her complete resistance.

Mariana sighs deeply and drops her shoulders in defeat. "But you didn't even hear what I had to say," she complains.

"What is it, honey?" I ask her.

She smiles again, "Okay, well we were wondering if we could go to the mall, since we're un-grounded and all."

Stef and I exchange confused glances and look back at the girls, "Together?"

"No, I was going to ditch her, the moment I got there," Mariana states sarcastically.

"Just the mall?" Stef asks.

"Yes, and maybe later we might go to the movies."

"That sounds like a good idea. Did you two invite Callie?" Stef asks.

"Yesss, we invited Callie, but she said no."

"And you'll both be back before curfew?" she continues the interrogation.

"Totally?"

"And what about you, Christina?"

"What?" Christina asks in confusion.

"No more crazy ideas right?" Stef leans her head down and glares at the girl in an attempt to give her an intimidating look.

But Christina doesn't catch on and looks at her strangely, "Nope, we'll be here by curfew."

"Okay," I agree.

Technically, they weren't grounded anymore, and they shouldn't be treated as if they were when they weren't. If we were to do that, they wouldn't be able to tell the difference and act out. "I can give you a ride in a few minutes, okay?"

"Kay, Mama. You're the best," Mariana says as she kisses my cheek and begins to walk away.

"Hey, what about me?" Stef whines.

Mariana sighs and gives in as she walks over and kisses Stef too, "There, happy?" she complains.

"Ecstatic," Stef answers sarcastically as we watch the girl's walk away.

* * *

"Good thinking. Taking them to the mall so we know that they're really there," Stef smiles and gives me a peck on the lips.

"I was trying to save them bus money," I try to reason.

"Yeah, right," Stef laughs.

"Did you have to threaten the poor girl like that?"

"I don't know what you're talking about?" she says innocently as she takes another sip of her tea.

I give her a disbelieving look, which makes her feel guilty.

"Look, she's been getting herself in a lot of trouble lately. She needs some serious structure in her life."

"She's not a bad kid," I try to reason with her.

"I know that, but she keeps putting herself in bad situations. She's too impulsive…I don't know. I'm just trying to steer her in the right direction I guess," she answers as she plays with the handle on her mug.

"Stef?"

"Yeah?" she looks up at me.

"You know we can't keep them, right?"

"I know that Lena. I just want to make sure they don't get hurt while they're here."

I sigh, "So, what are we going to do about Callie? If things don't go well at the trial tomorrow, she might get hurt too."

"What do you think she's going to do about that?"

"I don't know? She didn't seem too comfortable about lying in a court room."

"She's not lying. He is," Stef's voice rises a little.

"Well, either way. There's a chance she might not get the justice she deserves. Do you think she's ready for that?"

"I don't even think I am," she lets out a long breath and closes her eyes and lays back down in the hammock.

"Mom!" Mariana yells.

I get up and give Stef a kiss before I leave.

* * *

**Christina's P.O.V.**

Luckily, Jasper was able to pick Mariana and I both up from the mall and let us borrow his house for the deed.

When we arrive, I don't see any one there, and the place is really neat, "Okay, so you're sure no one is going to show up out of no where right?" I ask him.

"Yeah. You know, this is a lot of trouble to go through for just a friend," he says skeptically.

"Not too much trouble for me. Where's your bedroom?" I ask.

"Christina, if you wanted to take me to bed, all you had to do was ask," he jokes and I have to laugh.

"Ew," Mariana says in a disgusted voice.

He walks us over to his bedroom and opens the door.

"Good lighting," I complement. "There shouldn't be any complaint about the camera not getting his face perfectly.

"You watch too many crime scene shows," he says.

"Thanks. Now, where's the video recorder?" I keep myself focused.

"Right here," Jasper walks over to his dresser and pulls it out of the top drawer. "It's already set to start recording. The tape will record up to 6 hours," he answers as he hands it to me.

I glance around the room as I try to figure out where to hide it. After testing a few different places, I finally the perfect spot, in between two picture frames and aiming towards the bed. It was close enough for the camera to pick up perfect picture and sound, but far enough so that Liam wouldn't notice it.

_Hopefully._

"So, where is everybody else?" Mariana asks. Her phone starts ringing and she widens her eyes. "Oh my God! Is it him?" she asks nervously as she hands it over to me.

"Hello?" I answer. "Yeah, I'll be right there." I look back at Mariana, "It's everybody else," I say as I go downstairs and answer the door.

* * *

Shanelle and Tasha both step in.

"THE PARTY IS HERE!" Shanelle yells as she dances her way inside with a giant bottle of Bacardi.

I sigh, "We can't drink today loca. We're trying to gather evidence."

"Uhuh," Tasha said unconvincingly, "Where's your kitchen?" she asks as she starts gallivanting around the house with Shanelle following her.

I look over to Mariana and Jasper, who have the most fearful looks on their faces "They're okay. They're just a little nervous. Everything will be fine," I try to assure them as I walk toward the kitchen and they trail behind me.

I finally spot them, and Shanelle is raiding the fridge while Tasha is taking small glasses out of the cabinets. "One drink. That's it," I say sternly.

"That's fine," Tasha says as she puts the small glasses back inside of the cabinet and pulls out larger ones. "One drink it is," she smiles.

"O.M.G." Mariana says flatly.

Shanelle turns to look at us with brownie in her mouth. She takes it out and chews it quickly, "Jasper! Christina, you didn't tell us Jasper was going to be here?" she says as she runs over and gives him a hug. "You're my favorite of Christina's boyfriends."

"He's not my boyfriend," I try to assure them.

Tasha walks over and hands us all tall glasses mixed with orange juice and Bacardi, "That's right. We're trying to set your boyfriend up for murder."

I take the glass from her. "Not for murder, Tash. For rape. And he's not my boyfriend either," I argue.

"Then, why'd you tell me to bring a gun?" Shanelle asks as she takes it out of her purse and accidently points it to us.

Mariana and Jasper both gasp in shock, and I walk over and grab the gun from Shanelle.

"Let's not point it at everyone, okay?"

"Oh relax. The friggin' safety lock is on," she says as she takes the drink from Tasha and continues to eat the brownie.

I look over at Jasper and Mariana, who are still staring at me holding the gun "The gun is only a precaution," I try to reason. "Just incase things get out of hand or something. No one is going to shoot anyone. Here, I'll even take out the bullets," I say as I remove the clip and remove all of the bullets and then remove the one in the chamber. I hand it over to Jasper, "Here, threaten him with this if he doesn't leave voluntarily."

"You want me to point a gun at his face?" he asks in surprise.

"An empty gun," Tasha reminds him.

"Yeah, what's the big deal?" Shanelle asks as she licks the chocolate off of her fingers and takes a big gulp of her drink.

"The big deal is that I can get arrested!"

"You won't," I tell him.

Mariana's phone starts to ring and she glances up at me with fear in her eyes.

"Quiet," I tell them as I get ready to answer the phone. "…You're outside? Okay I'll be right there." I hang up. "You guys have to hide now."

Everyone runs upstairs and hides in the bathroom in Jasper's bedroom. Before I close the door, I look at all of them, "Okay, if you hear me scream or something, do not come out! I want the camera to catch as much crap as this guy can dish out."

"So, how do we know you need help?" Mariana asks worriedly.

"I'll yell help," I say nonchalantly. "Whatever you do, do not come out unless you hear that word, okay."

They all nod.

"Be careful," Mariana warns, and I can tell she's scared for me.

"Relax, I'll be fine. This is nothing to me," I say.

* * *

I close the door to the bathroom and quickly check the camera to make sure that it's recording. It is, so I run downstairs and grab the glasses and throw them in the sink.

I check my reflection in the mirror and I think I look presentable.

The doorbell rings. I try to remain calm and collective as I open the door, "Hey Liam. I'm so glad you can make it."

"I'm glad you called me back," he says as he walks in. "So, this is your place?"

"No, this is my Dad's place. My brother lives here, and I live with my mom. We sort of switched for a couple of months," I smile shyly.

"Is he here?" he asks as he glances around the house.

"Nope. It's just me. He travels a lot for work and he's in Texas right now."

"Really? So what do you wanna do? I bought some movies," he says as he hands me a bag.

"I've been grounded for 2 weeks. Do you really think I wanna watch a movie?" I say as I take off my cardigan and toss both the bag and my sweater onto the kitchen counter.

He doesn't move.

"…Or if you want, you can watch the movie in the living room, and I'll just be upstairs," I say as I start to climb them slowly. "Alone… But you know, if you think you'd probably have more fun glaring at a tv screen, then by all means. I don't want to stop you," I say as I reach the top of the stairs and remove my hair tie and ruffle up my hair a bit, knowing that he'd give in.

"No… We can always watch the movie later he says as he removes his leather jacket and throws it onto the counter.

I walk over to the bedroom and wait for him by the doorway, trying to look as seductively as possible. "That was simple," I smile as I wait for him to walk over to me.

"I was right," he says as he places his hand on the small of my back and pulls me closer to him.

"About what?"

"You are different," he says as he presses his lips hard against mines. I kiss him back for a few seconds, only to back away to gasp for air. "You're not to bad yourself," I say as I pull him forward, so that we're both in the camera's view.

"You are so hot," he says as he runs a finger down my neck and cups my ass with his hand, which surprises me. But I try to stay focused. "Does your daddy know what you do, when he's not here?" he jokes as he runs his fingers over my stomach before lying me down on the bed.

"Not at all," I smile as I kiss him to get him to stop talking. That's when I realize that our plan is working. I can feel him go hard from on top of me, and now I know it's the perfect time. I turn my head toward the digital clock on the nightstand, "Oh crap!"

"What?" he says as he starts to unzip his pants.

"Today's Saturday?"

"Yes, beautiful." He takes off both of his shirts and pulls in closer and begins to kiss my neck.

"I have to go to my friend's birthday party. I completely forgot," I whine.

"Who cares? Don't go," he says as runs his lips back onto mine and tries to unzip my jeans.

I move my face to the side, "I can't miss it. I have to go."

"No, you don't," he says as he starts to unbutton my shirt.

"Look, I'm really sorry. But she's one of my best friends. If it was anyone else, I'd drop it in a heartbeat."

"You can go later." He finishes unbuttoning my shirt and starts kissing my stomach.

I start to get up, "I can't Liam. I really have to go, I'm so sorry."

He grabs my arm and pulls me back down, "You can go later!" he yells as he forcibly removes my jeans.

"Stop!" I try to kick him but he pushes my legs away and throws my jeans on the floor. "This isn't funny!"

"You're the one treating it like a joke! You can't just bring me here and do all of this, and think you can just leave!" He lets go of my arms, to pull down his pants and I try to make a run for it. But I barely leave the bed, before he pulls me by my hair and throws me back onto it, "Where the hell do you think you're going!"

I scream loudly, mostly to get everything on camera.

But in part, because he was actually hurting me.

_It's for a good cause,_ I reason.

"Shut the fuck up you little bitch!" he says as he punches me in the face and presses his arm against my neck. I start choking and try to yell for help, but I couldn't get the words out loud enough. "You asked for it! Don't cry now!"

That's when I realized that I had in fact been crying because I couldn't breathe.

* * *

Suddenly, I hear the bathroom door open and see Shanelle run over to grab the camera and pause it.

I glance up and see Jasper holding the gun to Liam's head, "GET THE FUCK OFF OF HER BEFORE I BLOW YOUR FUCKING BRAINS OUT!"

Liam quickly lifts his arm from my neck and lifts his hands in the air. I'm finally able to gasp for air and I quickly get out from under him.

Tasha runs over to me, "Are you okay?"

I keep coughing until I'm finally able to respond, "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Why didn't you call for help?" Mariana asked angrily.

"I tried to," I say, confused as to why she would be so angry with me.

"I meant before, when he first started hurting you. You should have said it before."

We both turn toward Jasper who was still holding the gun to Liam's head, "GET YOUR SHIT AND GET THE HELL OUT!"

Liam moved slowly and he grabbed all of his clothes from the ground nervously.

"HURRY UP!" Jasper yelled, as we all watched Liam run out of the house half-naked.

Jasper calmed down the moment he watched Liam leave and walked over to me. He moved my face so that he can see my neck and the side of my jaw, which were both a little red, "Are you okay?" He glanced down at me and I realized I was still in my bra and underwear.

I immediately run over to the side of the bed to grab my jeans and shirt. "I'm fine. We got what we came for. It's all good," I say.

I'm not sure that they believe me, but can I blame them? I'm not even sure I believe myself.

TBC..

* * *

**Okay, so this chapter was too long for me. I wanted to finish yesterday and its 4:30am right now, so that obviously didn't happen.**

**All in all, I hope you guys liked it :P **

**Let me know your thoughts.**


	13. Chapter 13

_**Previously:**__ Mariana, Christina, Jasper and Christina's friends (Shanelle and Tasha) all took part in Christina's plan to set up Liam._

* * *

_Same Night_

**Mariana's P.O.V.**

Mama calls me just as Jasper is pulling in front of the mall, to tell me that she'd be here in 5 minutes. I'm so relieved that we made it back on time, but then I realize that it was all for nothing.

We are going to have to tell her the truth anyways. _How else are we going to get the tape permitted as evidence for the trial?_

"Thank you, Jasper," I say as I open his car door and step out.

"No problem, Mariana," he says.

But I know that he was definitely scared tonight. He broke the law for Christina, and it proves to me how wrong I was about him. He was actually pretty okay in my book.

Christina opens the door but it seems as if Jasper grabs her attention, because she doesn't get out of the car right away. I'm not sure what was said, but I stand there uncomfortably for the next couple of minutes until I hear her say good-bye. She gets out of the car, closes the door, and watches him drive off slowly.

As soon as he's nowhere in sight, I give Christina a piece of my mind, "What the hell was that?"

She sighs, "What?"

"That was the worst plan in the history of plans! We probably could have all gotten arrested or something. You risked Jasper's safety too, and definitely Liam's."

"What are you talking about? The plan worked."

"Yeah, and look at your face," I say as I gesture the bruise on her cheek. It hadn't darkened yet, but it was definitely going to, by the morning.

"I'm fine, Mariana. Why are you being such a drama queen?"

"Maybe because my night involved guns, alcohol, a rapist, and your crazy-ass friends."

"Okay. First of all, it was one gun and the gun was empty. Second of all, I didn't know that they were going to bring alcohol and they're not that crazy. Third of all, you knew exactly what we were going to do tonight."

"We were just supposed to help Callie!"

"And we did! What are you so afraid of?" She laughs, "…Wait a second. Is this about your moms finding out? Look, if you want me to leave your name out of it, that's not a problem. Technically, you didn't really do anything anyway, so they don't have to know that you were even there. You can even tell them, that I ditched you at the mall if you want."

"No, this isn't about them finding out. This is about—" I have to stop talking when I see Mama's car pulling up.

Christina tries to pull her hair over her face to hide the bruise, which causes me to roll my eyes. _They're going to see it eventually._

As soon as Mama pulls in front of us, I open the passenger-side door before she's able to fully stop and get in, slamming the car door behind me. Christina gets in the backseat and slams the door too.

Mama moves her gaze from me, to her, and then back to me. It's obvious that she knows that something is up. "What's going on?" she asks sternly.

"Nothing," we both answer at the same time.

"It doesn't seem like nothing."

We both stay silent.

She sighs, "Okay, then…" she gives up and she drives away.

**Christina's P.O.V.**

As soon as we get to the front door of the house, Lena opens it and starts walking upstairs to her bedroom.

"Is she in a bad mood or not?" I whisper to Mariana.

"I don't think so," she whispers back and glances around the room.

"Should we tell her now or tomorrow? Wait, do we have to tell both of them? Or can one just tell the other or something?"

"I don't know. Tomorrow they could be in a worse mood. What are we supposed to tell them?"

I let out a long breath, "…Maybe we can just leave the tape with a sticky note by their door, and they can read it in the morning?" I suggest.

I know that it's a really bad way to tell them, but I honestly didn't want a long lecture about it. Or worse. Have them call Bill and tell him to pick me up tonight.

"That's definitely a bad idea. That would only make them angrier then they are going to be."

"Maybe we don't have to tell them at all. Maybe we should just give the tape to Callie," I suggest. We both stare up the stairs as if they were on fire, and we had do jump over them to get to the top.

* * *

"Tell us what?" Stef asks from behind us. Mariana and I look at each other for a long time before we turn around.

_Shit! She heard us._

The moment she sees me her face goes pale. "What happened to your face?" the blonde asks angrily as she grabs my face into hers to get a better look.

But I pull it away from her immediately, not liking her angry reaction. "Nothing," I snap realizing what a stupid answer that was. "It's not a big deal."

She looks at Mariana and lifts her hands to her hips, "What happened, Mariana?"

Mariana glances over at me but she didn't have the courage to speak.

Just then, Lena comes down the stairs at the sound of Stef's voice, and that was when she saw the fresh bruise on my face. "Oh my God," she practically whispers.

"Mariana?" Stef says louder.

"Well, it wasn't me," she yelled.

"Obviously. I'm asking what happened?" Stef yelled.

That's when I had to say something, "It wasn't her fault so just calm down."

Both of her moms look at me and I realized I said the wrong thing. "…please," I add.

Stef crosses her arms, "Then whose fault was it?"

I look away from her and glance at the stairs, wondering if Callie could hear me. "Look, can we talk about this somewhere else, please?" I ask, causing them both to exchange glances.

"Sure, honey," Lena finally offers as she walks down the rest of the stairs. We all follow her into the kitchen.

* * *

The moms just stand beside the table anxiously waiting, and Mariana is the first to talk. "All right. Moms, you both should probably sit for this," she says while pointing her hand to the two seats in front of them.

Stef and Lena exchange unbelievable glances, as they knew that whatever we had to say was not going to be good. After a few seconds, they reluctantly take a seat.

"Christina?" Mariana says as she pushes me forward.

"Thanks," I say sarcastically. "Okay. So promise not to get mad," I say and wait for the two women to respond.

Mariana nods her head behind me, encouraging them to promise.

Stef's mouth opens but nothing comes out.

I try to help them out, "This is the part where you're both supposed to say, 'Yes, we promise.'"

"We can't promise anything," Lena says as she folds her hands on the table.

"Why not? It's not that bad," I say.

"Christina?" Stef says.

"Yeah?" I say nonchalantly.

"Just tell us what it is already," she says in a flat tone, obviously wanting to get this conversation over with.

I sigh and I already know that there's no getting past this. "Okay, so let me start off by saying that nobody got hurt."

All three of them give me a quizzical look.

"I mean just me, but I'm totally fine," I correct.

"…Okay. Go on," Lena offers after a while.

"And let me also say that it was completely my idea. And Mariana didn't really do anything."

"Well, I didn't have to go with you," she says.

"Sorry about that," I say, but this time I mean it. I look back at the moms who are staring at us confusingly, "So basically, Mariana and I overheard the conversation between you two, Callie, and her lawyer earlier and—"

"You two eavesdropped?" Stef asked angrily.

I look over at Mariana, wondering if I should continue. _If she was mad about the eavesdropping, I didn't even want to know how she'd react over everything else._

"Honey," Lena says as she places her hand over Stef's.

Mariana jumps in, "Um…yeah. We know it was wrong and trust me. We're sorry. It won't happen again."

"Uhuh," Stef says unconvincingly.

"Go on," Lena adds.

Mariana continues, "We felt bad about the whole Liam situation and the chances that the judge might not believe Callie."

"And I had met Liam at Wyatt's party, that we weren't supposed to go to, and we hit it off or whatever."

"The same Liam?" Lena asked with a shocked expression.

"Yes." I wait for a response from them but I don't get one, so I just keep going, "…Basically, we didn't want Liam to get away with what he did, so we sort of thought it'd be a good idea to set him up."

Mariana coughs.

"I mean, I thought it'd be a good idea. Mariana tried to stop me and everything, but I told her I was going to do it anyway, so she didn't really do anything wrong here." I look at two women's faces and see that they have their mouths hung wide open and look petrified. I ramble so I don't have to look at their nervous faces all night, "Okay. So we basically set him up, and he started to act all crazy. We recorded the entire thing, so that you can use it as evidence for court tomorrow. He doesn't know about the tape or anything. He doesn't even know that we know Callie. This way, she should have the upper-hand."

Still silence.

"And that's pretty much it," I say as I take out the tape recorder from my purse and put in on the table in front of them and start to back away slowly. Mariana follows my lead.

* * *

We're almost out of their sight when I hear Stef's voice, "Wait a minute."

We freeze.

"Come back here right now," she orders loudly.

We both slowly start walking back to her and are practically shoulder-to-shoulder. She stands up from her seat and leans her hands on the table, while breathing loudly, in an effort to calm down.

"What's up?" I ask calmly.

"You two went out with Liam tonight?" Lena asked.

Mariana answered, "No, we went out with Jasper. Liam came to his house to meet up with Christina."

Lena let out a heavy breath, "Okay, what happened next?"

"I just told you," Christina says.

"Tell us again!" Stef yells which throws me off completely.

I knew that they'd be pissed off, but this reaction was completely uncalled for.

"He got angry at me and…kind of attacked me. Then, Jasper came out and told him to leave. End of story."

"Why would you two go out with Liam to begin with?" Lena asked us.

"To get evidence to help Callie's case…Look, I know you said that you didn't want me to make any more crazy ideas, but I think this one was worth it. Now that we have Liam showing that side of himself on tape, then he can get charged for what we did to Callie." I cross my arms over my chest, "I have no regrets, so…"

"Do you two realize how dangerous that situation was?" Stef asked.

"We had it completely under control," I try to remind her.

"Is that why you have marks on your face and neck?"

"I said that I was fine. It doesn't even hurt anyways."

"That's besides the point!" Stef yelled. "You intentionally put yourself and my daughter in a very dangerous situation after we expressly told you not to!"

"I was only trying to help!"

"By almost getting yourself killed?"

"Wow! Really?" I ask sarcastically.

"Yes, really! Christina, when are you going to realize that you can't keep throwing yourself in harms way," Stef asks.

"When are you going to?" I retort.

"Excuse me?"

"How can you be such a hypocrite? You're a cop for Christ's sake! You put yourself in danger practically everyday! At least I waited for the weekend."

"That is completely different. I do it to help people!"

"Well, this time I was trying to help Callie!"

That's when we heard Callie's voice from behind us, "Help Callie with what?"

TBC.

**Quick question: Do you want the tape to actually be included in the court as evidence? Or do you want me to find some rule that excludes it?**

**Lmk**


	14. Chapter 14

**Previously: "You intentionally put yourself and my daughter in a very dangerous situation after we expressly told you not to!" Stef yelled at Christina.**

"**I was only trying to help!"**

"**By almost getting yourself killed?"**

"**Wow! Really?" I ask sarcastically.**

"**Yes, really! Christina, when are you going to realize that you can't keep throwing yourself in harms way," Stef asks.**

"**When are you going to?" I retort.**

"**Excuse me?"**

"**How can you be such a hypocrite? You're a cop for Christ's sake! You put yourself in danger practically everyday! At least I waited for the weekend."**

"**That is completely different. I do it to help people!"**

"**Well, this time I was trying to help Callie!"**

**That's when we heard Callie's voice from behind us, "Help Callie with what?"**

* * *

**Stef's P.O.V.**

Lena broke the awkward silence, "Callie, can you please go to your room for a minute?"

Callie glanced at us all strangely. "It's okay Sweets. We'll be up soon to talk to you," I remind her with a forced smile.

"Oookayy…." Callie said as she walked back out of the room.

Lena turned toward Christina, "Listen, we know that you were trying to do the right thing here, but—"

"Do you?" Christina snapped. "The lawyer said that he needed direct evidence, and that's exactly what we got him. I don't understand what the big deal is."

"Are you even listening to me, Christina?" I asked. "You put yourself in danger. AGAIN."

"I know that. But I'm fine," Christina continued.

"No! You are not fine! If you were fine, you would've never done something so stupid."

"Why am I stupid, because I wanted to help someone?" Christina put her hands in the air, "You know what? I don't even care," she began walking out of the kitchen and toward the front door.

"HEY!" I yelled as ran to catch up to her. "Don't walk away from me while I'm talking to you!"

"You're not talking. You're yelling! There's a big difference. And I don't need this," Christina began to open the door, but I slammed it back shut.

"Go upstairs! RIGHT NOW!" I yelled, and she whipped her body around to face me. We were barely a foot apart and glaring into each other's eyes. After a few seconds, Christina gave in and lowered her gaze from my face.

She grunted and stomped up the stairs.

I watched after her until she opened the door to Mariana's room and slammed it closed. I couldn't believe that she was really testing my patience. The moment I heard the door shut, Lena had to grab my arm to calm me down, because I was a millisecond away from going after her and continuing the argument.

* * *

**Mariana's P.O.V.**

I stayed in the kitchen and waited silently for all of them to come back. I sure as hell wasn't going to follow them to get yelled at even more.

A minute later, both of my moms come back inside the kitchen. Mom walked in and she was shaking her head with disapproval. I could tell that she was still thinking about her loud argument with Christina. But Mama had a disappointed look on her face as she stared at me.

I knew I had to say something, "Look, I know that what we did was wrong, but can you at least look at the tape. I'm sure that you can use it to convict Liam or whatever, and we really tried to do the right thing…Even if it was the wrong thing at the same time."

Both of my mothers just stared at me for a while. I could tell that they knew that I was right, but they still wanted to be angry about something.

"Mariana," Mama started. "You're the oldest. Not to mention, you knew how we were going to react."

"I know. But Christina seemed determined to do this, and I know that she was only trying to help." Mama looked away as she thought about what I was saying.

Mom continued, "Mariana, it doesn't matter. You should've come to us with this. We could've stopped it—"

"And what?" I interrupted. "Callie would lose her trial and Liam would get away with what he did, because no one would believe her?"

"We don't know that would've happened," Mama argued.

"Well, with that tape, we're almost positive that it won't… Look, I know that you're mad, but at least look at the tape before you decide to send her away. She's been through a lot to get this evidence for Callie, and I know that she only did it to help."

"That doesn't make it okay," Mom argued as she glared at me. She wanted to get her message across at it was working.

I just hoped that she'd hear mine.

"I know…And I know she knows too. I just…I don't think she's used to being told what to do," I shrug my shoulders.

Mama nodded her head, "We'll take a look at it. But Mariana?"

"Yeah?"

"No more secrets."

I nod my head.

Mom continues, "We mean it, Mariana. If Christina ever comes to you with anything, and I mean ANYTHING like this again, you will let us know. Yes?" she eyed me cautiously.

"I promise," I assured her.

"Okay," Mama said and kissed my forehead.

Mom pulled me in for a hug and pushed me out of the kitchen. "Now go. Mama and I need to talk."

* * *

**Callie's P.O.V.**

Christina came into Mariana's room and slammed the door shut. I watched her walk over to her bed and lay facedown into her pillow. The moment I think about saying something, I hear her scream into the pillow.

I look at her strangely for a few seconds until she's done and glances back up from her pillow. "Are you okay?"

"I can't take it here. I think I'm going to go crazy."

"Too late for that," I joke but she just gives me a dirty look. "…What happened?"

She takes a deep breath, "Okay. Well, promise not to get mad at me okay?"

I eye her suspiciously. _Something tells me I'm going to get mad._

"Just promise me, please. I don't think I can take any more crazy today," she says and I can tell she's on the verge of crying.

"Okay," I say without a second thought.

"Alright so, Mariana and I overheard your conversation with her moms and the lawyer earlier. Yes. We were eavesdropping. Yes. We know it was wrong, but we did it anyway."

My entire body goes numb. The fact that even more people know about what Liam did to me makes me sick. I promised that I wouldn't get mad, so I nod my head for her to continue."

"Okay, and we— I mean, I made a plan to get direct evidence for you. And that's what we did. And now, Stef is angry at us, or maybe just me. I don't even know," she finishes while putting her hands up in the air.

"What do you mean you got direct evidence?" I ask. Nothing she said made absolutely any sense to me.

"We set him up and got him on tape acting crazy or whatever, because we thought it'd help you in court. But the plan worked and now I'm in trouble, I guess. But I still don't think that I did anything that wrong."

"Why would you do that? Wait a minute…Is that why you have a bruise on your face?" I ask angrily. I could feel my blood starting to boil. The fact that she would do something like that, when she already knew how dangerous he was, pissed me off to the point of no return.

"Yes. And I was only trying to help. Don't tell me that you're going to be mad at me too…"

"What is wrong with you!?" I yell.

"What's wrong with me? Are you freakin' kidding me right now?" Christina crosses her arms. "Mariana and I go out of our way to help you get justice tomorrow, and you're asking me what's wrong with me? Wow! You're welcome."

"I didn't ask you to do that! And if I knew you what you were up to, I wouldn't have let you do it. Liam is dangerous!"

"Well, duh. Captain Obvious. I knew what I was getting myself into, and I wasn't alone. So, we had everything taken care of."

"What you did was very stupid," I remind her.

"I'm sorry you feel that way," she said as she stood up and walked out of the room.

* * *

**Christina's P.O.V.**

I have to leave the room and I lock myself in the bathroom. I cannot even believe anyone in this freaking family. They're all overreacting for no reason. I try to do one nice thing and it blows up in my face.

A few seconds later I hear a soft knock on the door, "What do you want?" I ask angrily, not caring who was on the other side of the door.

"Open up," Mariana says softly.

I let out a deep breath and consider turning on the shower and letting the water run as if I didn't hear her. Then, I hear her knock again.

I throw open the door and glare at her, "What?" I snap.

She pushes me in and closes the door behind her, "Why did you have to get so angry?" she asks worriedly.

"Why didn't you? We didn't do anything wrong and we're the ones getting called stupid," I remind her.

"She didn't call us stupid. She said we did a stupid thing."

"Well that stupid thing will help that scumbag go to jail. I don't see what the problem is. And Callie isn't even grateful."

"You don't see what the problem is? Christina you almost got yourself killed. That's why my mom is upset."

"Why is it any of her business though? What I choose to do has nothing to do with her? She's completely overreacting. And so is Callie. And you're in the same boat."

"Ever think that maybe you're underreacting?"

"Underreacting? Is that even a word?" I challenge.

"Yes, it is! And my moms are right. It was a stupid plan that could've gone very wrong."

"Don't you think I know that? That's why I did it…Well, that and helping Callie was a big part of it too."

"What? What do you mean? You wanted it to go wrong?" she asks with a confused look on her face.

"No…I don't know. I can't explain it," I tell her.

"Well, good luck explaining it to my moms," she says as she opens the door to the bathroom to leave, but Stef and Lena were both standing in the doorway…

tbc…

**Next Chapter: Some not so great consequences for Christina and Mariana. The trial. And maybe more. Not sure yet.**

**Btw, I will be updating **_**Someone Else**_** in a few hours. **

**Let me know what you thought :)**


	15. Chapter 15

_**Previously: Mariana and Christina were having a conversation in the bathroom and it was in Christina's P.O.V.**_

_**"We didn't do anything wrong and we're the ones getting called stupid," I remind her.**_

_**"My mom didn't call us stupid. She said we did a stupid thing," Mariana shouts at me.**_

_**"Well that stupid thing will help that scumbag go to jail. I don't see what the problem is."**_

_**"You don't see what the problem is? Christina you almost got yourself killed. That's why my mom is upset."**_

_**"Why is it any of her business though? What I choose to do has nothing to do with her? She's completely overreacting. And so is Callie. And you're in the same boat." **_

"_**My moms are right. It was a stupid plan that could've gone very wrong."**_

_**"Don't you think I know that? That's why I did it…Well, that and helping Callie was a big part of it too."**_

_**"What? What do you mean? You wanted it to go wrong?" she asks with a confused look on her face.**_

_**"No…I don't know. I can't explain it," I tell her.**_

_**"Well, good luck explaining it to my moms," she says as she opens the door to the bathroom to leave, but Stef and Lena were both standing in the doorway…**_

* * *

Awkward silence as Mariana and I stare at the two women in the doorway.

"Moms! Uh…I think I'll just get to bed," she says and I watch her, as she darts off to her bedroom in a hurry.

_Thanks, Mariana. Thanks…_

"Yeah…You know what? I think that's a really good idea. I'm pretty tired too," I say as I start to follow her lead, but Lena puts herself in front of me, so I have no way to leave the bathroom.

"I think we need to have a talk with you first," Lena says as she puts her hand on my shoulder and starts moving me toward her and Stef's room.

_Here it comes!_ I think to myself. _The "this isn't working out. You're a good kid, really. But we think you'll be better off somewhere else" talk…_

I wish I could just fast-forward to the end, where Bill just picks me up, and we call it a night. _Why do all these foster-parents feel the need to have a talk before they do this? Like it was better to have every single one of them engrained into my memory forever and ever…_

"I thought we already talked," I tell her as I pause at the doorway, not wanting them to lock me inside.

Stef nudges me farther inside the room, "Now's not the time to be getting smart with us, young lady," she says flatly.

_Really? Because now seems like the perfect time to me._

I turn around as she closes the door behind her.

_Great! This is just great! Another freaking argument. That's all I needed to end my long complicated night._

I cross my arms and try to brace myself for whatever else they were going to yell at me for.

* * *

"Sit," Lena says as she gestures toward her bed.

I contemplate whether to listen to her or not. Either way I was going to get yelled at, but sitting down as they stood, put me in a defensive position. At least if I was standing, I'd have a better chance of getting away if things were to get physical.

Lena glances at me strangely and then changes her expression as if she understood me. "Christina, we're not going to yell at you."

"We're not?" Stef asks in a harsh tone as she squints at Lena in confusion.

Lena gives her a stern look, "No, we're not." She glances back over at me, "We just want to talk to you." Her voice is calm, but I know all too well how "calm" can turn into "rage" in a matter of seconds, in some people.

"About what?" I ask innocently. I've never been one to give out more information than I should.

_Please don't tell me you heard Mariana and I talking. Please don't tell me you heard Mariana and I talking._

"Well, first things first. The video," Lena says as she pulls the computer desk chair beside the bed so that she could sit. Stef remains standing.

"It should help Callie's trial tomorrow, right?" I ask, hoping that I didn't just go through all of that for nothing.

"We hope so," Stef says. "But that's besides the point," her voices straightens. "We saw it, Christina. And we're not happy that you did it, regardless of your intentions. We get it, you wanted to help Callie. But you could've helped her, simply by being there for her—"

"But that wasn't enough to me. I didn't want to just sit by and watch a disaster waiting to happen. I needed to do something."

Stef shook her head as I spoke, "What? By putting yourself in a dangerous position? …That tape was brutal, Christina. What Liam did to you was—"

"Yeah, I was kinda there. I know what happened, Stef," I reply sarcastically. As soon as the words escape my mouth, I wish that I could take them back. To travel back in time fifteen seconds and take them back.

_God! Why can't I just shut up when I'm being spoken to._

"Sorry," I mumble as I look away from both of them, so that I don't have to see there frustrated facial expressions. "I get it. I shouldn't have done it. It won't happen again."

_Do I really mean this?_ I wonder.

"Just like you said that you wouldn't get any more crazy ideas after you, Callie, and Brandon went to go kidnap Jude?" Stef asks angrily. Her face was hardening and her lips were pressed together. I could see her hands tense on their placement on her hips, and I watch them, just waiting for her to lunge them at me.

I stay silent as I think of a back up plan, just incase she tried to hit me.

But I can't help but wonder, _Why are they only seeing the bad in all of this?_

_Why can't they just accept what already happened and move on?_

_It's too late to take it back and I already said sorry. _

_What more do they want from me?_

I consider asking them these questions, but I just want to get this conversation over with. My questions would just provoke a longer more boring lecture, and I was honestly too exhausted for any of it.

* * *

"We need to know the real reason, why you chose to do what you did," Lena continues in a softer tone.

"I already told you."

"Yes, we know that you wanted to help Callie. But we also know that there's something else going on here," Lena continues, as if she could read me like a book.

I hated people like that, people that just met you and act as if, they know every single detail of your life.

"There's not," I assure her. "Look, if you're that mad about it. Just call Bill to come and get me. I'm too tired and too exhausted to keep repeating myself all night. I don't even care anymore. Can this conversation just be over already? Please?"

Lena's voice rose a little, "No, it cannot. Now, we overheard your conversation with Mariana…"

_Crap!_

"…And we need to know what you meant, when you said that you did this because you knew that it could be dangerous."

_Crap! Crap! Crap! Think of something!_

"What?" I ask cluelessly in order to buy some extra time.

Lena continues, "When Mariana told you that it was a stupid plan that could have gone very wrong, you said that you knew that. And that was why you did it. What did you mean?"

"I think you must have misheard me."

Stef piped in as she lowered her head but kept her eyes directly on mine, "So, we both misheard you?"

"Okay… so maybe I misheard her. I don't really remember. Is it really that serious? It's no big deal, okay? Can we just drop it please?"

* * *

**Lena's P.O.V.**

I'm trying everything in my power to remain calm about this. I don't want to frighten the girl into complete silence. But at the same time, she still thinks that this behavior is normal. That _WE _are the ones who are overreacting.

As frustrated as I am, I know that Stef is trying her best not to physically shake the girl into reality.

"This is a big deal, Christina. You could have died tonight. Do you not get that?" I ask.

"Yes," she answers nonchalantly. "It was dangerous. Got it."

Stef gets frustrated and continues for me, "I don't think that you do, have it. Why do you keep doing this? Why do you keep putting yourself in dangerous situations, when you know very well of the consequences, yes?"

"Yes," Christina answers.

"First, you lure a grown man out of his house to help a girl, you just met the day before, kidnap her brother. Then, you run away, get into Vico's, a stranger's, car I might add, putting yourself in a dangerous position again. Then, you put yourself in even more danger with Liam, and you knew what he was capable of. And now, you act as if nothing happened at all." Stef sounds bewildered and she doesn't understand how this girl was getting away with so much and neither do I. We grounded her and it hadn't taught her anything at all.

Stef sighs and tries to sound calm, "We just want to understand why."

"I don't know!" Christina yells at us.

"What does that mean?" Stef asks with confusion.

Christina sighed, "I can't explain it, okay?"

"Well, try," Stef asks less threateningly and I can tell that she' trying her best to understand the girl.

Christina let out a deep breath, "…I think I like not knowing what could happen…" She shrugs her shoulders as if the conversation was now over, but Stef and I just stare at her and wait for her to continue. She gets the hint and does just that, "I know that all those things I did were stupid, but they were kind of fun at the same time. Well, up to a point anyway…."

"You did it because you thought it was fun?" I ask in confusion.

"Well, not really fun. I guess. Because they weren't, but I liked the whole dangerous "anything-can-happen" spontaneous feeling."

Stef stares at her with awe, "You like gambling with your life?"

"Yeah…well, no. Maybe? I don't know. I told you that I couldn't explain it. You should've just left it at that."

"DO YOU REALIZE HOW DANGEROUS THAT IS? NEXT TIME, YOU MIGHT NOT BE SO LUCKY!" Stef yells.

"So?" Christina replies. "And you give me a lot less credit than I'm worth. I've been doing this for years, and I'm still breathing, aren't I?"

"I can't even deal with this, right now," Stef says as she storms out of the room.

"If you two didn't want to know, you shouldn't have asked," Christina says angrily as she crosses her arms over her chest.

"Christina, we're just worried about you."

"Well, don't be. I'm fine. No, actually I'm tired. Can I go to sleep now?"

I sigh and give in, knowing that we weren't going to get any further into this tonight, "Go ahead.

She gets up and walks out of the room and into Mariana's.

* * *

A few minutes later, Stef walks back into ours. "Where'd she go?"

"I sent her to bed. She did look pretty tired," I admit.

"I can't do this, Lena. I know we said that we would foster all three of them until Bill finds a permanent placement, but I can't do this if she's just going to end up dead."

"So, you just want to give up on her?" I ask in disbelief. "She needs help, Stef. It's like she's trying to kill herself and she doesn't even realize it."

"And how are we going to help her?" Stef asks me sarcastically.

"Not by giving up on her… If she's been doing this for as long as she says she has, then it's a miracle she's still alive. Nowhere in her file does it say anything about any of this, and we're the first one's to realize it. What do you want to do? Be another foster family on the list that chooses to ignore it? We need to at least try to get her the help she needs."

"I know that. But I don't want to keep getting attached to a girl that's going to end up dead in a few weeks. That's what I'm afraid of. That I'm going to be working one day and end up at the crime scene, _her_ crime scene. That's not fair to me either. And it's not fair for the kids to get attached to her too, if that's what's going to end up happening."

"I understand that, but we can't just send her back. That's probably why she's like this in the first place. For heaven's sake, her own mother tried to burry her alive, Stef. Did you forger that?"

"Of course, I didn't forget that. That was one of the main reasons I brought her back to the house after she ran away."

"Alright, well, she's acting out or maybe she really is trying to kill herself, or maybe its something else. But don't you think we should at least try before we give up. You heard her tonight, she must've mentioned Bill over a dozen times. She expects us to disappoint her, because that's what she's used to…"

"So what does that mean?" Stef asks. "She needs to know that someone actually cares? Is that it? I thought we have been doing that?"

"All we have been doing is telling her what to do. That's how our kids know we care, but Christina's not our kid. Mariana said it herself, that Christina wasn't used to being told what to do. Maybe we need to take a different approach with her. I know it's going to be hard for us, but we should at least give it a shot…And when we take her to the therapist, we can get more expert advice on what to do. Please, Stef. It would really mean a lot to me."

"Lena, I'm giving it two more weeks and that's it. If I don't see a change in those two weeks, a dramatic change, then, I'm not going to keep doing this."

"That's all I'm asking for," I say.

She nods her head and leaves the room.

And I can't help but wonder, if we could really get her to change in just two weeks…

tbc.

* * *

_**Okay, so I know that I said I would write the trial in this chapter, but this conversation lasted way longer than expected. And I'm thinking that the trial will last just as long, so I didn't want to cut them both too short to make 1 chapter…**_

_**Next chapter will definitely be the trial and more.**_

_**So, what do you think about Christina's character now? Did you guys expect that or not? Is she really trying to kill herself? Is it just impulsiveness to the max? Will the Fosters figure out a way to "fix" her, if she can be fixed?**_

_**Let me know your thoughts :)**_


End file.
